The Downfall of Us All
by TAngel96
Summary: Love. Loss. Death. Three words to describe the hunting lifestyle Angel and Alice Montgomery decided to choose. They come across the Winchesters along the way, and a whole new series of adventures begin. New cases, new monsters, and an epic end battle of destruction, this was the story the Winchesters never thought they'd have. It would be the downfall of them all.
1. Chapter 1-Year 1

A speeding boat ran against the waves of the sea on a cold winter's night. The moon couldn't be found and the twinkling stars danced before the water below. Angel Montgomery shot a harpoon into the water and hit something. "I got her!" She screamed to her younger sister, Alice, who was piloting the boat.

She stopped the engine and put it in reverse. "Keep a hold on her!"

Angel struggled with the rope and tied it around one of the metal railings. She stepped back carefully, her shoes soaking from the water on the deck, and made sure not to fall. She could have easily fallen and slid off of the boat. "What do you think I'm trying to do here?"

"This is no time to be a smart ass!" Her sister exclaimed and stopped the boat close to the dock. They weren't that far from it. She went over to Angel and helped pull on the rope to get what they had hit onto the deck.

After some struggle, what seemed to be a mermaid hit the deck. She was wailing so high, her voice cracked. The green scales on her tail were molded with a black substance and her skin was covered in it. The evil red eyes stared back at them, as if she was possessed, and her blonde hair was wet and clinging to her body. Alice stopped and looked at the creature in confusion. "Is this the one we're after?"

Angel laughed at her sister's innocence. "She fits the exact description the mother gave us." Angel tied the rope up and had her sister hold the rest of it. Angel took out a sword and stood in front of the mermaid. "You aren't a mermaid. You're something much more evil. I can't believe you kill little kids. From our other source, mermaids don't do that. So, I don't know who or what you are, but your life is over." With that, Angel chopped off the creature's head before she could create an excuse.

They remained silent for a few moments before they heard something hit the side of the boat. "What the hell?" Alice yelled and looked over at the water.

A mermaid shot out of the water at Angel, but she became transparent and the mermaid went straight through her like a ghost. She screamed and aimed at Alice, who snapped her fingers and a Ray Gun Mark II from the game Black Ops 2 came out of nowhere. She immediately shot her with it and green sticky bullets flew at the mermaid, poisoning her and making her fall to the deck. More mermaids shot up out of the water and Angel stabbed one of them. Alice shot constantly until she ran out of ammo. She then threw it down and punched one of the creatures in the face. The creature fought back and smacked Alice with her tail. Alice was infuriated and kicked her in the stomach, making the creature double over. Angel chopped her in half and quickly turned around and slit another one's throat.

Alice sighed, "That's the last one."

A creature shot up out of the water and dragged Alice down with her. "Alice!" Angel screamed. A few seconds had passed and a thick silence took over. The waves crashed against the small boat and the stars stopped twinkling. All fell still. Angel could hear a clock ticking in her mind. _Tick. Tock. Your sister isn't up yet. _She couldn't control her heart beat and she dropped her weapon. _Tick. Tock. She's probably already dead. _She was about to jump overboard when Alice started to rise out of the water.

Alice was standing on a piling tower of black crabs. Her arms were raised and she was staring up at the sky. She was soaked from head to toe and her clothes clung to her skin. "All hail the Crab Queen!"

Angel chuckled and tried to catch her breathing, "I was worried for a second there, sis." She immediately hugged her sister. Once Alice got on deck and the crab tower disappeared into the non-ending waves, Angel sighed. "Killer mermaids? I'm starting to question what we hunt nowadays." She turned to her sister and shot her a playful smile. Angel's long brown hair stuck to her skin and her blazingly blue eyes watched her sister sway back and forth. "Now poof us up a raft and let's get out here."

Alice snapped her fingers and a raft popped up on the side of the boat. Her bright blue eyes focused on the deck of the boat. Her rose red hair is what made her different from her sister and her beautiful smile radiated the place. "The old Set-Fire-To-Everything trick? That's just a calling card with us, isn't it?" She snapped her fingers again and gasoline was placed everywhere.

They both stepped off of the boat and into the raft. "Yeah, well it leaves hell of a lot less evidence than dumping the bodies back into the ocean. They can float, you know," Angel pointed out.

After they got far enough, Alice set fire to the boat with another snap. "Now what do we do?"

Angel scoffed, "I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat."

"You're always starving," Alice rolled her eyes.

She laughed, "Can you blame me? This is hard work."

"Fine, but I get to choose where we eat."

The Montgomery sisters walked into the tiny, run down restaurant. The white chipped walls seemed to be fading away and the stained white floor tiles made the place seem even more aged. Brown polished tables stood in the left hand corner of the room and the red leathered booths sat before the long counter with red stools in front of it. A few people were eating already and the aroma that hung in the air made Angel's stomach growl. They sat at a booth next to two young men and a waitress handed them menus. After looking through it for a couple minutes, two waitresses came by to both booths to take their orders.

Angel ordered first, "I'll take a cheeseburger with a side of fries and a black coffee, please."

Alice couldn't believe her ears. Angel and the man sitting directly behind her had ordered the same exact thing at the same time. Their voices were in sync. She looked at the two men and found the other staring directly at her. When the waitresses asked them what they wanted, they both answered simultaneously, "Caesar Salad and a water." Alice's eyes grew and so did the man's, and they

immediately looked away.

Angel didn't pay attention to anything until the man that sat behind her turned around and declared, "You have a great taste in food."

"I know," she smiled slyly and turned around to face the man. She suddenly raised an eyebrow and both of them asked, "Hey, don't I recognize you from…?" Both Angel and the man stopped. Their eyes widened for a few seconds, then narrowed. "You're hunters," they stated. Both growled at each other and exclaimed, "Stop it!" They both pointed fingers at one another, "No, you stop."

Alice and the other man cut in, "Both of you stop it!"

Angel turned around and said, "Whore."

At the same time, the man behind her called his friend, "Bitch."

Alice furrowed her brow and stated, "Slut."

And who would have guessed that at that very moment, the other man said to the man, "Jerk."

All four people turned to gaze at each other in awed silence. This was certainly weird and unlike anything anyone has ever gone through. Both sets of people were exactly the same, but different genders. Angel's blue eyes focused on the other man's hazel ones, which seemed to catch her off guard by how dazzling they appeared. Her breath hitched and she couldn't think of what to do. His long brown hair brushed the back of his neck and his broad shoulders made him appear strong. She wouldn't dare let her eyes gaze down at his lips, which almost tortured her. This man could have been sculpted from marble.

Alice raised her voice and stated, "Awkward."

The man behind Angel spoke, "Do you guys want to eat with us?" Alice nodded and shook her googly-eyed sister out of her trance and moved her stuff. She sat next to the man she had locked eyes with earlier and Angel sat next to the man that complimented her taste. His short brown hair was spiked up at the top and his green eyes held a darkness inside. His face was structured like a model's and his voice was deep and attractive. "I'm Dean and this here," he pointed to the other man, "is my brother Sam."

Angel snapped out of it and came back to reality. "I'm Angel and this is my younger sister, Alice."

"Angel, that's a pretty name." Sam complimented.

His velvet voice melted Angel's heart. She smiled and looked into his eyes, "Thanks."

"So, what brings you two in town?" Dean asked curiously. "I thought we had it all handled here."

"We just got done doing our job here. You know," Alice said.

Everyone declared at the same time, "Saving people, hunting things, the family business."

There was another awkward silence as they all wondered why this kept happening. They were so in sync with one another, like this had happened so many times before. After their food came, they feasted like kings. For a while, all four seemed completely at ease, sharing stories of past jobs and hilarious things that happened but worked out so well. Both groups paid their bill and walked out of the restaurant in a fit of laughter at a joke Alice had made.

When they walked to their cars, which were a parking space apart, Sam admired and commented on Angel's navy blue 2013 Chevrolet Camaro. "That's an awesome car."

Dean laughed, "The older versions are cooler."

Angel shot him a glare and pet her car, "Don't listen to him baby, he's just lying."

Alice rolled her eyes and got into the car. Dean had gotten into his sleek black 1967 Chevrolet Impala. He started the engine and called for Sam. Sam towered above Angel at six foot four against her five foot three frame. He smiled at her before handing her a small piece of paper with his number on it. "Call me if you need anything."

Angel giggled and asked, "Anything?" The statement was accompanied by a wink.

Sam became pink in the cheeks and flustered. He stuttered, "Y…Yeah." He nodded and got into his brothers car. Angel started her car up and both groups drove their separate ways down the street.

Alice broke the silence that had lasted since they had left the restaurant, "From what I could tell earlier, you were star struck by that Sam guy."

"I was not." Angel scoffed.

"Was too," she mocked.

"Shut up."

"You should call him when we get to the motel," Alice wriggled her eyebrows suggestively and laughed.

"Are you kidding? I don't want to seem crazy." She kept her eyes on the road and turned up the radio a little bit.

"Crazy? That's what we are! Did you hear the stories they told? They started and stopped the freaking apocalypse! That's crazy enough." Alice sighed, turned down the music, and continued, "What did you think of him? I ought to know at least."

Sam grinned shyly, "I thought she was cute."

"Come on, Sammy, she was hot. If she wasn't staring at you half the time I would've made a move on her." Dean chuckled and tapped his fingers to the song on the radio.

"You've had your share of women in the past, I'm not surprised you were going to try anything," Sam rolled his eyes and looked out of the window into the dark night.

"At least I live my life to the fullest."

"Whatever."

"Do you think she's going to call you?" Dean asked as he rolled up the window from the cold air seeping in.

"I would hope so…"

"Aw, does little Sammy have a crush on the badass chick?" Dean teased his little brother.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Whore," Angel remarked.

"Slut."

"It doesn't matter if I call or not, he might shoot me down," Angel whispered. She was too frightened to admit that she would die a little on the inside if she got rejected. All her life, she'd been the outsider. Only being outcast more and never finding love was her second worst fear, next to losing her dear sister.

"Shoot you down? Are you serious? You're everything a guy wants! Badass, smart, killer looks, the stomach to eat anything, athletic skills, and let's not forget you can be a total ninja and walk through objects whenever you please. You can break in and out of anything you need to. That's amazing." Alice smiled at her and filled the gas tank of the car full of gas with the snap of her fingers. "How long are you going to wait until you call?"

"I'll give it three days. If we need him before then, we can call him," she answered and kept driving. "How long until we hit the next town we marked?" Her stomach churned at the thought of calling him for anything.

Alice flipped through a few maps covered with streaks of red from sharpie, tracing their route through the country, and found out where they were. "There's two hundred and fifty miles between here and there."

"Go to sleep. When I get tired, I'll wake you up so you can drive." After her younger sister had fallen asleep, she had thought about how to go on with their lives. Their parents were gone and they didn't have anything but their car and whatever Alice could create. It was much more difficult than she had thought. Angel wanted her younger sister to lead a great life, but it was so messed up from the hunting lifestyle that it seemed almost impossible. Frustration built up inside of her and was suddenly furious. Her little sister wouldn't live the life she aspired to have when she was little. She turned up the music and drove for the rest of the time, ignoring any thoughts that came to her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few days and Alice was driving to one of the locations some creatures could be hiding. In the big city, people started going missing. This had happened for years, but now it became a real problem. Over fifty people had gone missing in the passed month alone. She looked over at Angel, who was sleeping and listening to her IPod on full blast. She smiled and kept an eye out for anything mysterious. Her thoughts rambled on and on about how she was tired of moving from place to place. She wanted a place to settle down. A place where Angel could get married and start a family. A place where Alice could feel at home and start anew. She missed her parents dearly, but she had to push forward. There wasn't any reason she should be stuck in the past. She had to keep Angel above the water, or she would sink like a rock. She was truly the only thing her sister had.

It was bright outside with the sun shining its rays proudly. The temperature was a cool eighty degrees and the nice breeze swept through the window and through Alice's red hair. The puffy white clouds swam across the sky at a slow pace and birds chirped in trees. Her blue eyes looked around frantically every once in a while, making sure nothing bad happened. The last thing she needed was to wreck her sister's beloved car.

A trail of blood leading from the city's road ran into the forest. There was a ton of blood smeared on the gravel and green leaves of the forest. She immediately stopped the car and took out Angel's headphones. "I think we've found our lead."

She woke up wearily and rubbed her eyes. "What are we after again?"

Alice contemplated for a second and shrugged. "I actually don't know. It literally could be anything."

Angel tied her long brown hair up into a ponytail and fixed her make up. "Great. Nothing's better than going in blind on a hunt," she replied sarcastically. Alice got out of the car and unlocked the trunk. She pushed the button on the side of the trunk and the carpets came off of the car to reveal gun racks and weapons of every kind. Even the hood of the trunk had a few guns inside of them. Pistols, automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, blades, knifes, swords, hand grenades, smoke screens, flash bangs, holy water in water guns, salt-loaded guns, they had almost anything they could ever need while fighting creatures. If they didn't have something they needed, Alice would just create it. "Let's go kick some ass," Angel stated and cocked her shotgun.

"And take some names," Alice finished her sister's sentence.

They marched into the woods quietly and followed the blood trails. The trees stood much taller than five stories high and the leaves flourished greatly around everything. Vines climbed up the trunks of the trees and the bushes were overgrown. The different shades of green played with their eyes and the sky wasn't to be seen because of the tree tops. Birds chirped in the trees and squirrels climbed branches. Alice followed close behind her sister and carried her gun lightly. Angel came up to an abandoned cabin and stopped. She made a few hand gestures telling her to go around the back and check it out.

Alice complied and made her way out back to check it out. She made sure to pay attention to her surroundings. There was an old back door and an old brown wooden porch. The windows were boarded up and covered in tattered white curtains. She opened the door slowly and made her way inside. The cabin had an old fireplace, but no furniture. The floors were creaky and the windows in the front were covered in blankets to keep the sunlight out. There was a door to the side of the big room that led to the basement. She didn't want to go down into the basement. She knew that is where all of the scenes of impending doom in scary movies happened. She urged herself to go down there anyway, knowing if she didn't, Angel could be in trouble. Alice shook her head slightly and made her way down the stairs. _I'm going to regret this._ Alice thought.

Bodies hung upside down on hooks while the blood was being drained out of them. Some of their faces were gangly and torn apart, and others were fresh kills, planting their last facial expression they ever had forever on their face. The stench coming from all of them was foul and thick up Alice's nose. _I guess we found the missing people. Where are the rest of them, though?_ She wondered. A sound came from behind her and before she could whip around, everything went black.

Angel woke up tied on a chair back-to-back with Alice. She didn't remember blacking out. All she could recall was sending Alice to check out the back of the cabin. The back of her head hurt massively and her back was killing her. "A…Alice…" she whispered.

"Angel, you're awake," she replied instantly.

"Don't talk." A man ordered from the shadows.

Angel's eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet, but she felt several presences in the room. "Don't tell me what to do."

A man slapped her across the face and screamed, "Shut up!"

"You're going to regret that," Angel spat in his face.

"You're going to regret when I-"

Another man interrupted him and held up a cell phone. "She has Sam Winchester's number."

"That's perfect. We can finally lure him over here and give him what he deserves for killing most of our family," the man answered. He backed away and called the number. He then shoved it in Angel's face on speaker.

Angel's heart began to race. She didn't want to be the person to get Sam killed. She had liked him after all. "Hello?" Sam answered, kind of shy in his tone.

"Sam, we're in a bit of trouble…" Angel started. She sighed and continued, with a dull sound to her voice, "I need you to help us."

"Where are you?" He asked with a worried tone.

After Alice had given him the way to get there, Angel quickly put in, "Sam, please hurry."

"We aren't that far from you. Give us ten minutes. Stay on the-"

The man shut the phone and the call ended. "This was too easy."

"Alice, are you hurt?" Angel asked as she turned slightly.

"Yeah, they roughed me up a bit, but I'll be fine. I'm just dizzy," she replied.

Angel turned her attention towards the men when her eyes finally adjusted. They were dark beings with cracked gray skin and soulless black eyes. They wore a lot of clothing to cover it up, but she could see right through it. There were ten men in the room total. No one seemed to be the leader. They were a pack, probably an Oligarchy type of rule set, and worked together to get their food. "What are you guys?"

One of the men polished his blade, "Since you're going to die anyway, I might as well tell you. We're Jikininki, or demons who feast on human corpses. You two have completed the set of how many people we need until we move to the next town."

"So you fat-asses had to eat over three hundred people in the past ten years in order to move to the next town?" Angel laughed, "That's hilarious."

"Angel, don't," Alice whispered. She knew she would get beat up and didn't want that to happen.

"Don't what? They've been disrupting the natural order of humanity. They've been killing off people who weren't supposed to die yet. They deserve everything that comes to them," she scoffed.

One of the men went to punch Angel, but his hand went right through her and hit the back of the wooden chair. He cried out in pain and she stood up. One man went to hit her; she blocked the move easily and tripped him without hesitation. She stepped on his throat forcefully as another man attempted to grab her. He ghosted right through her and hit the wall. The door was kicked open by Dean and found Angel already kicking ass. Sam was right behind him and another man stood behind him.

One of the Jikininki bit into Angel, making her scream out in pain. She stopped him and made him ghost through her and onto the floor. Angel grabbed him by the head and twisted his neck, making him go limp. She gazed at her arm, which was bleeding from the bite mark, but he hadn't managed to rip off her skin. She realized she just used her powers in front of the Winchesters and this unknown man, and she felt ashamed. She wasn't supposed to reveal her secret to anyone.

Dean went with the flow and started beating up other Jikininki. He shot at them with his shotgun and made one guy fly into the back wall. Another man pushed Sam against the wall and attempted to stab him with the knife that he had. Angel took on another guy that came at her with a bat and kicked him in his privates. He leaned over in scrawling pain and she kicked him in the chin, sending him flying. Sam knocked the guy pinning him down to his feet and stabbed him with a special blade. The guy screamed and an orange substance ran through his veins. Then, he was dead.

"Cas, go see if her sister's alright," Dean ordered the man.

Cas went over to Alice to make sure she was okay and untied her. He had short black hair with the most amazing blue eyes. He wore a suit under his tan trench coat, where his hands could barely be seen in the sleeves.

"Whoa," Alice said breathlessly as she looked at him.

"Are you okay?" Cas asked her curiously. His voice was low and deep, like a velvety chocolate.

"Mhmm," she answered simply, not knowing how to string words together anymore. Alice was in awe of this gorgeous man. An awkward tension set in between them, accompanied by the longest ten seconds of her life. "I love your eyes," she finally said.

"I like your…um….face," he smiled and faintly blushed at the compliment. He didn't know exactly how to answer, for he was caught off guard.

"Hey, you two love birds! Cut it out. Can't you see we're fighting here?" Dean yelled to Alice and Cas, pulling them out of their daydream.

Alice created a water gun full of holy water and sprayed it around the room at the demons. They all hissed and their skin burned from it. This gave everyone a chance to kill them in a swift move, one way or another. When everything was over, Sam started chanting in Latin and exorcised the demons from their vessels. Angel sat down on the chair again and regained her vision after it faltered. Her head still hurt and was pounding.

Dean turned to her and crossed his arms. "So what? You're part of what we hunt?" He was referring to her powers.

Angel stayed quiet and tried to string the words together in her mind before she spoke and said something wrong. Sam looked at her, distressed. He spoke up, "Dean, not everyone with powers is bad. You remember how I was. I used my powers for what I thought was good."

"Yeah, and that started the freaking apocalypse if I remember correctly," Dean threw his hands up in the air and furrowed his brow.

Sam rolled his eyes and put his hand on Angel's shoulder as he knelt down to check on her. Her heart started to beat faster and her eyes traced a trail from his hands, up his masculine arms, and up to his kissable lips. She flicked her eyes up to meet his and saw the sympathy in them. "I was born with them. I can't really help it. I only use my power for good. If you couldn't tell, I used it to escape and dodge some attacks." Angel clutched her bleeding arm.

"Dean's just overreacting," he shot a glare at Dean and looked back at her with caring eyes, "Having that power just makes you a little bit better of a hunter than we are."

"I have a power too," Alice said. "I can create anything I want and it'll be completely real."

"Sometimes we were told stories that the humans with powers could turn out really bad or incredibly good. It's all a matter of how they use it," Cas butted in.

Dean contemplated for a moment before saying, "Get them out of here."

Sam assisted Angel until she said that she could walk by herself. Then, he put his arm around her shoulder to help prop her up a bit more and make sure she didn't fall. Alice walked passed her sister and stood behind Cas as he exited. Alice smiled and blushed a bit as she checked him out from behind. Angel opened the Camaro door and attempted to start up the car.

Sam hesitated before saying, "I don't think you should drive in your condition."

Angel sighed and leaned her head against the headrest after multiple tries of starting up the car. "It's not working, anyway."

"We can all fit in my car," Dean offered.

"I don't want to leave my baby," she said sadly.

"Hey, Sam," Alice began, "do you know how to fix a car?"

"Well, as a matter a fact, I do," he smirked proudly.

"Good. Then you can stay with Angel and help her out, and Dean will take Cas and I back to their motel," Alice decided for everyone.

Cas simply smiled and Dean nodded his head. "That sound like a plan to you, Sammy?"

Sam nodded. "I'll protect Angel while I'm at it. I can handle it." He went to get the tools out of the Impala before propping up the hood of the car.

"It's not protecting her that I'm worried about," Dean remarked and shot a look towards Angel.

Angel narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "I'm not going to hurt your brother, if that's what you're implying. Now, I'm entrusting you, Cas, to protect my little sister."

Cas bobbed his head and quoted, "I'll protect her until my last dying breath."

"Shotgun!" Alice called cheerfully.

Dean quickly rejected the idea, "Newbies get the backseat."

Alice pouted and stepped into the Impala. The black leather interior cushioned the seat more and she found a comfortable spot in the middle of the backseat. The last thing she saw of her sister was her talking to Sam as he opened the hood of the car.

The drive back to the motel was far. She wished they were closer, but surely Sam would have to know his way back, right? She didn't want her sister to be gone for so long and have Alice left alone with this Godly figure and Dean. She could create so many awkward moments, and of course, she does, but it only made her seem socially awkward around men. She fidgeted in her seat and stared at Cas, whose attention was directed outside of the droplet-covered window and to the nature outside. Rain tapped against the hood of the car softly. To fill the silence, Dean turned up a song by ACDC and drummed along to it. He pulled up to an aged motel with a broken sign reading, _Moonlight Motel_. The building was two stories with light blue walls and the doors leading into the rooms were a deep chestnut brown. The windows were big and could be opened, breathing fresh air into every room. Alice stepped out of the Impala and snapped her fingers, putting a dozen twenties and ones in her hands. When she stood full frame, her head started to ache again and she put her hands on the car to steady herself. Cas eyed her worriedly and raised an eyebrow.

"We're in room 106 for another week and there aren't a lot of people staying here. You can probably get the room next to ours, if you'd like," Dean told her. She simply nodded and proceeded to walk towards the front desk. She overheard Dean ask Cas, "What the hell, Cas?"

Cas stuttered for a second, "I-I don't understand."

"You look at her the way you look at cats," He pointed out.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Once Alice had paid for room 107, she walked into the boys' room. She didn't want to be in the room alone, and her sister wasn't back yet, so it was the least she could do. Another factor of that was she couldn't get Cas off of her mind. She laughed when a thought popped into her head. _God wouldn't have sent that fine piece of ass down here for nothing._ Alice saw a bed and jumped on one of the empty beds in pure joy. "We've been sleeping in the car for weeks. Oh my gosh, this feels so comfortable."

Cas chuckled to himself. "We can watch a movie until your sister gets back and we can relax on the bed."

"Can you warm me up during the movie? I'm really cold," she faked shivering.

"There are a couple blankets on the bed to cover up with," he replied, the comment clearly going over his head.

Dean scrunched his nose and scoffed, "You guys are making me sick." He grabbed his keys and opened the door. "I'm going to a bar. I'll be back later. Call me if Sammy doesn't make it back before ten."

Alice checked the clock. It was ten-passed-six. When Dean left, she thought for a moment before thinking of a flirtatious line. "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

"Yes, it did."

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"What?" Cas cocked his head and narrowed his eyes in confusion.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam fidgeted with some tubes. Angel stood around, looking up at the sky as it began to rain. "Great, and I don't have an umbrella."

"Can you hand me that wrench that's on top of the tool box?" he asked.

She handed him the tool and couldn't help herself but to check him out. "Damn," she mouthed in silence. He looked amazing. She brushed her hair back before she could blush and sighed. "Is there any way you can get this done before it completely rains?"

"It shouldn't take that long to get it started. I just need to fix a few tubes and some other things. Otherwise, I don't see anything else wrong. That's lucky," he answered. When he noticed it was raining, he turned to Angel as he twisted something. "Go sit inside the car. I don't want you to get wet."

She crossed her arms as she leaned against her car. She stared down at the floor. "No, I don't want you to be out here alone. You might need me for something."

He smiled a tiny bit, "You're going to catch a cold."

"What's the fun in letting you be the only one to catch a cold? Well, of course, I could be your nurse and take care of you." Sam dropped the wrench to the side of the car and he adjusted himself. His actions made Angel laugh and almost double over. "You are truly one of a kind, Mr. Sam Winchester."

The car took an hour to fix and by that time, they were both completely soaked from head-to-toe. Angel started the car and heard the engine roar, and then softly fade into a purr. She exhaled in content and waited for Sam to buckle up. He gave her the directions as she drove and the car fell silent except for the rain pounding against the car and the gentle melody of a song on the radio. She caught him staring at her a few times, and he would pretend he wasn't and look elsewhere. It was adorable to her.

"So, why are you two always on the road?" Sam questioned. This time, he didn't turn away when she caught him looking at her. Angel didn't want to answer that question. It hurt her heart just remembering what had happened a few years ago. He sensed her discomfort and immediately took it back, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just curious."

"No, I trust you enough to tell you." She built up the courage to speak of it out loud and continued, "That doesn't happen to just anyone, so feel special." Sam's face instantly lit up and his attention was fully on her. "There was a group of demons that banded together and attempted to take over a pretty decent sized city. When my family heard about it, we were immediately in pursuit. We got hunters together within a few hours and went against the demons. Both sides were dropping like flies, and Alice and I tried everything we could to keep people safe. She created walls, catapults with fire and rock, thousand arrows flying out of the sky, and I made demons ghost through people they could have killed, giving the hunters the upper hand. There were only a few of us left and our parents went down." A tear ran down her cheek and she sniffled. "When we took out the last demon, I rushed to my parents, who were holding hands while laying on the grass. Their wounds were so horrible that they were losing blood so fast."

More tears filled her eyes and Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "Pull over."

She did as he said and wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. Take your time. It's my fault for asking," he admitted and brushed the wet brown hair out of her face.

"I didn't know what to do. At first I covered their wounds and my sister and I put pressure on them, but then they both agreed that we should stop." Angel didn't want to open the flood gates, so she forced herself to stop crying. "My mother told me that they loved us both so very much. She said she was sorry for ever getting us into the hunter lifestyle. We told her we were proud of our lives. We saved people. That's the best thing we could ever do. My father said to protect Alice at all costs and not to separate. She's the only family I have left." She sniffled once more and looked in the rearview mirror to fix her makeup. "After the burial, the remaining hunters wanted to lead normal lives. Alice and I could never do that, so we went our separate ways. We're constantly on the road, but the payments to our childhood home are always made on time. We just turned the utilities off and check on it periodically with our security system. We save people. That's our job."

Sam frowned, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked, it was rude of me."

"No, it's fine…" Angel trailed off. "I feel bad for you and your background."

He raised an eyebrow. "How could you possibly know my background?"

"You're a Winchester. Alice and I have heard many things about you and your brother, but we never matched the face with the description. Among the hunters, you two are the most talked about," she replied.

He fidgeted in his seat and changed the subject, "You want your sister to have a normal life, huh?"

Angel knew that answer without even hesitating. "Of course I do, but she won't unless I find a guy. She's focused on me and it's vice versa for me. It's a really difficult situation with us."

"I know how that feels." Sam hesitated and knit his eyebrows together, "It's hard to live the normal life when you've experienced so much." She nodded in agreement and they sat there for a second. "Thanks for confiding in me, Angel."

Angel's heart brightened with life at the sound of him saying her name. She grinned and started the car back up. "Thanks for listening. I haven't really told anyone that before."

Alice clung to Cas, who in turn was clutching onto the covers for dear life. A horror movie played on the medium sized television screen, which was the only light source in the room. The lights were off to create an ambiance effect and it had achieved its goal. Alice was almost scared out of her skin and Cas looked like he was ready to fly away to the next planet. They watched the movie in mute terror until the front door opened. At that moment, lightning and a boom of thunder appeared with a tall dark figure in the doorway, making Alice and Cas scream at the top of their lungs.

Sam turned on the light immediately and his eyes were wide. "What is going on? Why is everyone screaming?"

Alice put her hand to her heart and Cas shook his head and laughed. "Alice wanted to watch a…scary movie with me. I've never seen any of these before. It's terrifying."

Sam laughed and shut the door. It was still pouring outside. "Where's my sister?" Alice questioned.

"She's in your room. She found out you had a room already and got an extra set of keys. We put all your stuff in there and she's getting changed now." He showed himself off, "We've been soaked for two hours."

She looked at the clock. It was only eight. "Did you two eat dinner?"

"No, I was too busy fixing the car." Sam walked into the bathroom and changed into a red flannel and comfy pajama pants.

Alice threw a few bags of food at him and declared, "These are for you two. Enjoy."

"No drinks, how nice," Sam teased.

Alice rolled her eyes and watched him leave. Cas played the movie and they continued to watch it. After a few minutes, the screen was just static and then the power went out. She buried her face in Cas' trench coat and whimpered. He immediately said, "I've gone blind. I don't understand."

Alice giggled at his innocence, "No, Cas, the power just went out." Ten seconds passed and she whispered, "It's really dark." She listened to the calm sound of his breathing and it helped her relax a bit. She snuggled up next to him. "I'm scared." She was never a fan of the dark. That's where all the demons and the bad creatures hid in the night when she was a child. She was never comfortable knowing that. Alice heard a sound from the corner and asked, "What was that?" She was paranoid about everything and she felt as if she could jump out of her skin at any moment.

Cas shushed her and wrapped his arm around her. "Don't worry. I've got you, and you've got me." His warm breath brushed against Alice's face, which smelt of fresh peppermint. She inhaled a bit and savored the moment. To distract her, Cas told her jokes that he knew or told her interesting stories. Soon, Alice didn't even remember that they were in a real life scary movie. She was with Cas who would protect her no matter what. She felt somewhat secure, which she hasn't felt since her parents perished. Alice wanted to get used to that with him.

Angel noticed the power outage when she took off her shirt. She reached for her dry blue shirt and noticed Sam was at the door. She didn't turn around and put on her shirt. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were changing," he got flustered and looked away quickly.

She laughed and turned around. She was dressed in black gym shorts and her blue v-cut shirt. "It's dark. I mean, what could you possibly see?"

Sam chuckled and threw some bags on the bed. "Your sister was kind enough to buy us some food from the vending machines."

"Can I warm up first? I'm freezing." She rubbed her arms, attempting to do as she said.

"Are your lips still blue?"

She put her fingers up to her lips and she could barely feel them. "Yeah."

Sam sat down next to her and pulled the covers over her. He got underneath with her and said, "Come here. I'll warm you up."

Angel shivered. _An instant way of reviving my lips could be kissing me…What am I thinking? I'm never this way. Am I…vulnerable for once?_ She thought. It was difficult to come to terms with, but she had to start somewhere with a relationship. She liked Sam. He was a really great guy, and they had the same interests. She was taken in by his open arms and she set her head on his chest. He rubbed her back slowly and they clung onto each other for warmth. "Sam?"

"Yes, Angel?"

"Should I be afraid to like somebody?" She whispered.

"No, of course not. I could see why you'd be afraid, though. This line of work is really tough…" He whispered back.

"I don't know how to like somebody…I…I've never experienced it before," Angel admitted. She clung a little bit tighter to him and felt his hair on her head as he nuzzled against the pillow to get comfortable.

"You just let your heart decide what's best for you. If you like someone, you'll get this tingly sensation in your stomach when you see them. You'll constantly look at them and admire them. You'll think to yourself certain things you wouldn't have the courage to say out loud. It's not complex or simple. It's just a feeling of liking someone else as much as you care for them," he answered without hesitating.

Angel listened to the quiet sound of his subtle heartbeat and felt comfortable when she could feel his chest rise and fall with his breathing. She settled in with that thought and realized something. _I think Sam Winchester likes me._

"Cas, what the hell?" Dean yelled when he entered the motel room in the morning. Alice woke up groggily and rubbed her eyes. "Where's Sam?"

"He's in the next room with Angel. The power went out and he kept her company," Cas answered innocently.

Dean chuckled to himself, "Sammy is finally getting some. That's a shocker."

Alice rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him. "Go wake them up and let's go get some breakfast." She brushed her hands through her hair and some quite descriptive thoughts passed through her mind as she watched Cas straighten himself up.

After everyone got ready and went to the restaurant, an awkward silence set in. Everyone's night was cute in its own way and they didn't know if they should share it or not. They listened to the sounds of the busy restaurant and the smell of the food was fantastic. Alice's mouth watered and Dean's stomach growled. The nicely painted yellow walls matched the homely theme that was set up against the grey carpet. They ate their food and didn't say anything until Alice asked Dean where he was all night and she winked.

"I was out with a hot chick," he simply answered. "What the hell happened with you guys last night?"

Cas answered first, "Alice and I were watching a scary movie and the power went out. She was frightened so I told her a few stories."

Dean looked at Sam mischievously. Sam explained, "I kept Angel company. We were both extremely cold from the rain, so I held her and we talked all night."

Dean appeared disappointed and shook his head. All went silent between them. Then, they heard glass shattering. Their heads snapped towards the glass window next to us to see what was happening. A dark hooded man broke the driver's side window of the Impala. "Son of a bitch," Dean yelled and marched outside. The group watched in fits of laughter as the guy got his ass kicked by Dean. He punched and kicked him repeatedly. The guy got a few punches in and ran away before anything else could happen. Dean screamed, "Yeah, you better run!" He came back inside, sat down, and took a bite of his burger. Then, all of them started laughing at the absurdity that someone would actually try stealing the Impala and live to tell the tale. Even Dean joined in on the laugh fest.

After they had gotten the glass replaced and got back to the hotel, they parted ways to search for new information about happenings in other towns. When the Montgomery sisters entered their room. Angel froze at the sight before her.


	4. Chapter 4

Her parents were sitting on the bed, and when they saw them, they stood up and smiled. "You're here," their mother declared. Her long brown hair and blue eyes are what both girls gained from genetics. She appeared so beautiful and poised, just as she had before the last battle. Their father stood tall and quiet as he usually was, short blonde hair and brown eyes in all. Angel's heart froze over.

"Mom? Dad!" Alice ran to them and hugged them tightly. She wouldn't let go for a while and they hugged back.

"We missed you," Mother said. "You two look so beautiful."

"We missed you so much! We love you…" Alice trailed off.

Their father huffed and spoke to Angel, "I'm surprised you've kept your sister in one piece."

Angel twitched and grabbed her pistol filled with silver bullets. She shot her father, or rather the imposter, in the heart. The comment chipped a chunk of her heart off, but she knew it shouldn't matter.

"What the fuck? You just shot Dad!" Alice screamed at her.

"They aren't our parents. They went out a warrior's death. We saw it happen." Angel aimed the gun at the mother, but Alice shielded her.

"Angel, this is them! They have the same looks, the same touch, the same voices!" Alice cried. Tears were streaming down her face now and she couldn't control it.

Sam and Dean rushed into the room to see what had happened. Then, the creature changed its appearance to mimic Dean, shedding its skin, and tried to escape. Dean intervened and they both started fighting. Fists flew into jaws, they rolled around on the floor for control, and knees kicked certain areas. Alice ran into Angel's arms in search for comfort and Angel wrapped her arms around her. She calmed her down as a waterfall of tears stained her green shirt. Sam watched Dean and fake Dean fight and aimed a gun at them.

Sam shot the Dean that was winning and set the gun down. Dean screamed, "How did you know that wasn't me?" Sam shrugged and his brother gave him the angriest expression.

"Holy shit," Angel whispered, wide eyed. Alice clung to her and cried her heart out. Dean and Sam took the body of the shape shifter and exited the room. Angel knew her sister was in so much pain. The pure happiness in her voice when she saw it was them said it all. It broke Angel's heart to know that Alice was so sensitively gullible when it came to their parents. To be deceived like that took a toll on her. It was bad enough when she used to have night terrors and Angel would have to wake her up before she could scream. The weight on Angel's shoulders was enough with raising her sister, watching over her, and tried to help her make the right decisions in life. Her heart ached for Alice as she balled her eyes out; she rocked her back and forth and sang her a lullaby until she fell into a deep sleep on her bed.

Angel had taken the longest walk of her life after her sister had fallen asleep. She got lost in her thoughts, contemplating on how to help her sister readjust back to real life. Their parents being alive would only be true in a fantasy world, and Angel knew that. That's why it was so easy to shoot the imposter. Otherwise, she would've done the same thing Alice had. _Shape shifters. What did they want with us? They definitely wanted to kill us. Why else would they pretend to be our parents? To actually be our parents? The chances of that are slim to nothing. No one could ever replace them._ Angel thought. _Alice seems to like Cas a lot. Maybe she could possibly have a future with him. Then she'll have a normal life and all would be good. She'd be happier than ever and I wouldn't have to worry about her as much. Her sanity is what I really focus on. This event really injured her. _

Angel came across a bar and went straight inside. The only thing she wanted more than forgetting that ever happened is numbing the pain. Drinking wasn't a normal thing for her, but she made an exception. She really needed it.

A few hours later, she called Sam. When he picked up, she immediately groaned, "Sam, can you pick me up?"

"Where are you?" Sam asked curiously.

"I walked to a bar and it's really far. It's off of 5th street and…and…" Angel trailed off, trying to remember. Her head was pounding and her heart race had accelerated since she entered the bar. Her vision was sort of blurry and she felt really warm. The barkeep helped her out and she told Sam the directions. Angel hung up and walked out of the crowded bar. The fresh air hit her face and the cold night brushed against her skin. She rubbed her arms and stumbled down the stairs to the curb. She set her head down on her arms until he had gotten there. The street lights were shining brightly and the stars above were shielded by dark clouds.

The Impala pulled up next to her and Sam got out of the car. He opened the passenger door for her and he gave her his jacket. "It's cold, put this on."

"Sam, you're the best," she smiled crookedly and put it on. It was twice her size, but that's what made it so comfortable. He shut her door and got back in the driver's side. He started the car and drove back to the motel. Angel played with the radio and complained about the poor song choice the radio had chosen to play.

Sam sighed and changed it back to Dean's favorite station. "Why were you all the way over here?"

"I…I wanted the pain to go away…" she trailed off. Angel fidgeted with her hands and sighed. "Seeing shape shifters pretend to be my parents didn't do any good for my emotional health."

"You shouldn't have gone alone. I would have gone with you," Sam admitted. He kept his hazel eyes on the road and his brown hair was messed up from the wind coming in from the window.

"Sam, I like you. Do you like me? I hope you do, because you're really hot and one of the most adorable people I have ever met," Angel quickly said. Her attention span was failing her now and she couldn't focus.

He chuckled and answered, "I do like you, Angel."

"That's awesome." She leaned against the windshield and closed her eyes. "Sam, promise me one thing."

"Sure."

"Never leave me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

He smiled shyly, "I promise."

Angel fell asleep against the door, and when Sam parked the car in the motel parking lot, he got out and carried her inside. Alice opened the door and Sam set Angel down on her bed. He kissed her forehead and brushed his hands through her hair before standing up.

"When she's around you, that's when she's the happiest I've ever seen her in a long time," Alice told him. "Thank you."

"I plan on keeping her happy," Sam said and left the room.

When all of them had checked out of the motel, they packed their cars. Cas looked really sad and asked, "Are you leaving us?"

Alice rushed to him and hugged him, "Never."

Angel grinned and her eyes met Sam's. "I guess you're stuck with us."

His hazel eyes sparkled against his picture-perfect grin, "I'm okay with that."

Dean leaned against the car and nodded. "I guess we can work together."

"So, where are you guys headed?" Angel questioned. She put her hands in her jacket pockets to keep them warm.

Sam laughed before saying, "This is going to sound extremely crazy. There are reports of a crazed butt-stabber in the next town over."

Alice and Angel gave Sam a confused look and he nodded. "So, who's going to be the decoy?"

Alice sat at the bar in the restaurant and twirled her red straw around. She was extremely patient and adjusted her v-cut shirt. Her tight pants fit her curves nicely and she wore nice black heels to finish the outfit. Her red hair was curled in several places, creating a majestic waterfall look.

"So, this crazed butt-stabber preys on young women?" Angel asked in disbelief as she watched her sister from a far table. She inhaled the smell of smoke that floated in the air and coughed. She hated the stench when it mixed with alcohol.

"Yeah, I know. He is definitely insane." Sam commented.

Cas growled, "If anyone touches her, I swear on my father…"

"What?" Angel asked in confusion.

Sam informed her, "Castiel is an angel from heaven."

Angel immediately nodded in comprehension. "That makes complete sense."

Dean sat beside them and chowed down on his food. "You guys have to try this. It's delicious."

Before anyone could answer, they overheard a guy at the next table mutter, "Swiggety swooty, I'm coming for that booty."

Everyone's eyes widened and tried not to laugh. They knew he meant he was going for Alice, which was bad, but then again, they had the situation handled. When he left to go talk to her, they all burst out laughing except for Castiel. Cas eyed him evilly. "This guy is a sad excuse of a crazy person. Crazed butt-stabber? I mean, come on," Angel stated after wiping some tears away.

Alice was done talking to him and she walked outside. The guy followed in pursuit, which led the rest of them head out as well. Alice drop-kicked him in the alley and Cas held him up by the collar. "You really thought it was going to be that easy to kill her?"

The guy sneered and Angel continued to laugh. "Really? Stabbing butts is the best you can do?"

He spit at her, "It makes me feel better about myself."

"Dude, you fugly," Dean commented.

Everyone burst out in laughter, and before the guy could say anything, Cas ended his life. They had to regain their composures before they could go back into the restaurant to finish their meal.


	5. Chapter 5-Year 2

Life seemed to speed right by, and it was already the second year Angel and Alice had been with the Winchesters and Castiel. Angel couldn't believe it. It was even more unbelievable when she realized she really was with Sam Winchester and everything wasn't a sick, twisted dream. She expected to wake up any moment from this dream world because nothing seemed real. It was as if she was too lucky to have all of these amazing people around her. She could tell Alice felt the same way. Alice was drooling over Castiel constantly and they flirted here and there. There was definitely something going on between those two, and Angel was glad that her sister found happiness for once. All of them had travelled across the United States and back, so now they were in California on the beach. It was time to take a short and meaningful vacation so they could all get their minds away from the chaos in their lives. Plus, it was the first time Cas would be on a beach.

When they had got there, Cas and Alice immediately jumped out of the car and onto the beach. They both worked each other up and had an endless supply of energy to take a new adventure. Castiel seemed more excited today than Angel had ever seen in the two years she'd known him. She watched them as Alice pushed him into the water, only to have him cling onto her and they both fell in. They resurfaced and laughed hysterically; they splashed one another and their smiles were genuine. The sun wasn't beating down too much, for it was just setting, which painted the sky different shades of incredible reds and oranges. The smell of the ocean calmed Angel and the sounds of the crashing waves on shore brought her back to her childhood when their parents would take her and her sister on vacation. Those were all sweet memories she would never forget, but now it was the time to start new ones. Sam intertwined his hand in hers and a shy smile was plastered onto his face. His brown hair flew back in the small breeze and his hazel eyes were soft and welcoming. He wore a black shirt and a pair of light blue swim trunks.

Angel still couldn't believe she was his girlfriend. He seemed so perfect. The way he admired her sent chills down her body. Her brown hair was wavy and her blue eyes mimicked the color of the ocean. Her purple swimsuit wasn't too showy or too conservative, just the way she liked it. She felt comfortable standing next to Sam, even though he was a whole foot taller than she was. "So, Dean, what are you planning on doing here?"

Dean put on some sunglasses and stretched from the long car ride. "I was hoping to see some bikinis, but the beach looks dead from here." He fixed his grey tank top and black swim trunks and walked onto the sand. "I guess I'm going to take a swim, then I'll take a nap!"

Sam chuckled to himself, "He knew we were coming to a small town's beach. What did he really expect?"

"It's Dean we're talking about here," she pointed out. She tugged Sam onto the beach and watched Alice and Cas swim around in the shallow water. They sat in the sand and laughed with them at their ridiculousness. They splashed and did tricks in the water. Of course, Castiel was better, for he used his wings to splash Alice, which all in all, wasn't fair. It turned into an all out wave war to see who could splash the most at once. They could have created their own stormy water.

"Sam!" Dean called from afar. His head bobbed above the water before he was dunked in. Sam stood up, took off his shirt, and jumped in. Dean struggled with keeping above the water and flailed his arms around. Sam rushed out there as fast as he could to assist his brother. Before Angel knew it, they were back on the shore, coughing up water they both inhaled.

"What happened out there?" Angel questioned in shock.

Cas and Alice waded in the water, listening to what Dean was about to say. "It was a prank. Sammy used to pull stuff like that all the time," he replied. He crawled away from the water and lied on his back.

"Not anything like that!" Sam yelled.

"Yeah, well I got some water in my lungs."

"That's what you get for trying to trick your brother with such a horrible prank," Angel pointed out.

"You're such a jerkface," Sam stated in disgust. He sat down next to Angel and watched Cas and Alice start back up their water war. They remained quiet for a little bit, just enjoying the view and reacting to whatever cold water flew their way from the war. Sam pulled Angel in and held her there until Dean fell asleep.

"You know how you could get him back?" Angel asked mischievously.

"How?"

"You could make a sandcastle on him or something." Then, something clicked. "You could form sand on top of him to make him look like a mermaid!"

Sam laughed, showing his pearly white teeth. "That's genius!" Seconds later, they were gathering sand and compacting it down on Dean's body. Dean didn't wake up, which was surprising since most of the sand was wet so they could mold it together, and he didn't even move. That only made their task that much easier. It took ten minutes to gather the sand and an extra seven to put in some detail. They used a twig to design the tail with scales, and carved the chest area. When they were done, they stood up to admire their masterpiece. "We're great sculptors," Sam said.

Angel nodded and let Sam do the honors of waking Dean up. He splashed his brother with ocean water, which woke him up instantly. "Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled and couldn't get up. The sand was compacted down too much, so he was stuck. "What did you guys do?" He looked down and saw a giant pair of sand breasts. He gazed at the rest of our work, and his eyes went back to his chest. "I'd make a beautiful mermaid," he smiled as he patted his chest. Sam and Angel went into a fit of laughter, catching Alice and Cas' attention. Once they saw what was happening, they put down their water guns, fake wings, or real wings, and came to admire their work. All four laughed until their stomachs hurt, and Dean still failed to get up. "Look, this isn't funny anymore. Get me up."

"You deserve it," Sam sang and walked away with Angel. Dean yelled profanity at him, but he didn't listen. They walked along the shoreline, staring out onto the sunset, or at least Angel was. Sam's eyes were locked on her, but she didn't notice until she turned to look at him.

"What? Is there sand in my hair?" She reached up to feel her hair.

He put her hands down and said in a velvety voice, "No, there's nothing wrong. I'm just looking at how beautiful you are." Angel blushed and didn't know how to speak for a moment. She could flirt her way out of anything, and here she was, flustered by a single man that had stolen her heart. Thoughts raced through her mind and she felt butterflies rise in her stomach. That was when she noticed Sam got closer and his lips touched hers in the next second. Her eyes widened, but then she warmed up to him and kissed him back, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment. He pulled her in closer by putting his hands on her waist, and in turn, she wrapped her arms around his neck. They were so close and the moment was so perfect.

Until cold water was poured onto them and they both screamed.

Alice and Castiel laughed at their reaction from afar and fell to the sand. They clutched their stomachs from laughing so hard. The buckets that Alice had created above them fell beside Angel and Sam. That only lit up a light bulb of creativity. They both gave each other a certain look before grabbing the buckets and diving for water. They ran over and dumped all of it on Alice and Cas, who stopped laughing by then. Then, another war started. Angel and Sam were on one side against Cas and Alice. Water and sand was thrown everywhere, and poor Dean was trapped in the middle of it. He swore on everything that he would get them all for it.

When the sun had fully gone down, the night became chilly, sending chills down everyone's spine and goose bumps rose on their skin. Dean was released from his mermaid cell and he set up a campfire. Everyone else grabbed towels and blankets from the car, drying off and trying to get warm at the same time. Alice watched as her sister joked around with Sam and felt completely comfortable. _They really do make a cute couple. _Alice knew her and her sister were in the right place. They were meant to be with the Winchesters. That's how she met Castiel, after all. He was so wonderful to her. He opened doors, constantly told her stories and acted silly, did anything she wanted, joked around, and made her feel like the most special woman on the planet. All in all, Alice couldn't imagine a better life.

The group sat around the campfire. Sam pulled out food to make some smores, and Alice cheered. She forgot what smores actually tasted like and yearned for it. Cas cocked his head in confusion. "What's all that for?"

"It's for making smores, silly," Alice answered him playfully.

"What's a smore?" He questioned. Alice taught him how to make a smore while everyone else made theirs and shared some hilarious stories. Cas' eyes lit up when he succeeded in making one, but when he pushed down on the marshmallow with the cracker, it crumbled in his hands and fell into the sand. The expression of deep sorrow swept across his face, and it pained Alice so much to see that. She handed him her smore and let him try it. He smiled brightly and took a bite. The look in his eyes was pure pleasure as he took another bite of the sweet delicacy. Alice tried to get it back so she could eat it, but he fought her for it. Before they could hit the sand, Dean reminded them that there were more to be made if necessary, and not to make him sick by being so mushy. Cas made one for Alice and she did the same for him. They both fed each other, and the experience was unlike anything she had ever done. It brought a sense of joy and new beginnings crossed her mind. She got excited just thinking about it.

Dean pulled out a guitar and played a song that Sam and Angel knew. They both sang along, their voices meshing together to make a beautiful sound. Cas and Alice swayed to the music, and she made a move and held his hand. Cas was hesitant at first, and he looked down at their hands, but he simply grinned and pulled her closer. The whole thing made Alice's heart skyrocket to the moon and all she could think about was kissing him. She didn't want to rush him, though, so she held off on that. After all, they just got into the relationship a few weeks ago. She knew he was an angel and didn't experience a lot of things in his past, so she had to take it slow. She could just imagine his lips on hers, how sweet they must taste, and how they both were so in sync with each other. Alice's face burned at the thought and came back to reality where her sister and Sam just finished their song. Cas and Alice cheered for an encore and they got what they wanted. Alice never thought she would end up here. All her life, she thought she was going to go out in a blaze of flaming glory before she even met the love of her life. Oh, how wrong she was. Now, she knew an angel who liked her back. What he didn't know was he owned her heart the moment she laid eyes on his gorgeous face. What sealed the deal was his amazingly blue eyes and rich, deep voice. She could feel the warmth coming from his hand and he squeezed it a little bit.

He looked at her and whispered in her ear, "Are you alright?"

She beamed with delight, "Of course I am. I'm here with you." She couldn't believe it, but she was loving her life.


	6. Chapter 6

"Guys," Dean called from the bathroom. He slammed the door open and said in a deep voice, "I'm Batman." He wore a dark Batman costume and it actually looked good. It highlighted his muscles and his green eyes.

Angel and Sam broke out into laughter over how excited Dean was. "You look great," Angel commented.

"I look better than you two bozos," he snorted and pointed at them.

"What?" She looked at her costume. She was a sexy cop, complete with real handcuffs and a fully loaded pistol with silver bullets. She pointed at Sam, who wore a matching cop uniform, "I'm his partner in crime. Get it?" Dean shook his head and she huffed. "I'm going to check on Cas and Alice."

As she left the room, Sam caught his brother checking Angel out. He gave him a look and said, "Really dude?"

"Hey, I can't help myself." Dean sat on the couch in the motel room.

Angel went into Alice's motel room and knocked on the door. "Are you ready yet?"

"No, I'm doing his makeup!" Alice exclaimed from the other side of the door.

"Why do I have to wear this makeup?" Cas asked curiously.

"We watched the movie, and now we're dressing up as the main characters. It's Halloween, Cas, people dress up for a night," she answered.

"I remember when Halloween was for dressing up to scare away the evil spirits, not to have fun," he explained.

"Done!" Alice yelled and opened the door. She was dressed up as Sally from _Nightmare Before Christmas_. She didn't need to wear a wig because her hair was already dyed bright red. Her makeup was fantastic and outlined her high cheek bones.

"You look amazing," Angel said with a smile. Alice thanked her and Angel peered over her shoulder to see Castiel. His makeup was done perfectly, but he didn't wear a bald cap. She could imagine Cas not wanting to wear one, so it made sense. His striped tuxedo looked amazing on him, topped off with the Jack's bowtie. "Cas, you look completely different."

"I know, Alice wanted to dress up and I didn't want to make her sad. I would've just worn my regular clothes," he stated in a monotone voice.

Angel laughed to herself. "We're ready to go to the party. Waiting on you."

After taking a ride in the Impala, they arrived at someone's house for a Halloween party. They snuck in, pretending to be friends, and grabbed a few drinks. The group just wanted to have fun and relax on a holiday for once. The house was packed with people dancing, mingling, and drinking alcohol. The music blasted from the speakers; cans and red cups were piled everywhere and food stained the floor. A lamp fell to the floor and no one heard it. Alice taught Cas how to dance in one room while Dean hit on a girl in a nurse outfit in another. Sam's face turned to remorse and Angel caught it. He walked out to the back for air, where people were making out on the picnic table or throwing up in the bushes. Everywhere wreaked of alcohol and chips and dip. Angel followed Sam as he leaned against the cement wall.

"What's on your mind?" she questioned. She put one hand on his shoulder and looked into his hazel eyes.

He finished his drink and set it on the wall. He let her push back his hair out of his eyes and hesitated before talking. "Just old memories coming back to me."

"Old memories? Do you want to talk about it?"

His lips formed a tight line and his eyes went stone cold. "Before I started hunting with Dean, I had a normal life. I was going to college and I had the most caring girlfriend." He sighed and his voice cracked a little, "She dressed up as a nurse for Halloween. I guess seeing a girl dressed like that brought the memory back."

Angel didn't want to ask what happened to her, but she couldn't help herself. "What happened to her?"

"A demon killed her…" he trailed off and a single tear escaped his eye.

"I'm so sorry, Sam," Angel said quietly. Her heart hurt for him.

He caressed her hand, kissed it, and felt her hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be sad. We're at a party trying to enjoy ourselves."

"No, Sammy, it's fine to grieve. I'm glad I can be here for you." She smiled confidently and kissed his cheek.

"I guess I still kind of miss her," he admitted quietly.

A knife stabbed Angel in the heart. Her eyes darkened and she kept her smile up to make sure he didn't see. Maybe if she was in his position, she'd feel the same. _Does he still like her more than he likes me?_ She thought.

He brushed her hair back and gazed into her eyes. "She's in my past. I have to move on. I'm moving on with you." Before she could say anything, a girl ran screaming from the woods. She was dressed in a clown costume and ran into the yard.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Angel asked in a rush.

"There was something…out in the woods…took….my boyfriend…" the girl had trouble breathing and panted while laying in the grass.

"What did it look like?" She got closer to her, but Sam kept his distance.

"Giant bat," she simply said.

Angel and Sam shared a look and went to get the rest of the group. They told Alice and Castiel to stay at the party and make sure nobody got hurt. Sam and Angel dragged Dean away from the woman he was flirting with and followed the girl out into the forest. She was trembling, so Dean went over to comfort her. Angel pulled out her pistol and held it closely to her. The girl stopped in an open field of flowers. The sight was beautiful. Flowers of different colors covered the ground and the moonlight poured into the meadow. The grass was changing to a sickly yellow while the leaves fell gently off of the trees. "Over there," the girl whispered and pointed towards the dark half of the meadow.

A six foot tall figure was grazing among the grass. He was checking to find something, as if he had lost it, and turned to look at us. The girl shrieked in terror, it ran towards them, and all three of them started shooting at it. It squealed from the shock of the pain and took off, flying away in the night sky. She looked at Sam with confusion, and he simply made the same face at her. They didn't know what that thing was, but they sure as hell wanted to find out.

"Alice, stay at the party. Keep an eye outside and make sure nobody gets taken by a giant bat thing," Angel ordered over the phone.

"Giant bat?"

"Giant bat. I didn't stutter." Angel sighed and watched where she was driving. The phone was on the dashboard on speaker, which vibrated with how loud it was. "Make sure you stay outside and don't let anyone go into the forest."

"Dean and Cas are in the forest just in case it comes back. If you hear gunfire, don't follow it. No one is allowed in the forest, and if they hear gunfire, they'll most likely be attracted to it. Be the bodyguard," Sam added.

"Alright, I got it." She hung up.

Angel parked in front of the one story motel and walked to the room they stayed in. "What do you think it is?" She put her keys on her belt and felt chilled against the cold night air.

"I have no idea. It could be something ancient for all we know," Sam commented and opened the door. Angel put on her black leather jacket and opened her laptop at the same time Sam did. They both competed to find what it was first, but she failed. He beat her to it. "It's called a strix, which is from the Greek time period. It's a nocturnal birdlike creature that is believed to feed on human flesh." He made a disgusted face, "Well, that's great."

"So, that's it? There's nothing else on it?" Angel asked as she scrunched her nose. With so little information, they wouldn't be able to do much. She reloaded her pistol with fresh silver bullets and turned on the safety. "We should try chopping its head off too," she suggested and grabbed her sword. She strapped it over her shoulder and watched him as he geared up.

"We should walk down the streets, just in case it tries taking one of the children trick or treating." Angel nodded and they both locked up the room. They walked down the street, observing the area. The moonlight was now hiding behind the clouds and the loud sound of pitter patter from feet running or walking on the sidewalk clashed in the air. The smell of sweet chocolate and caramel mixed in the air and met Angel's nose. She inhaled and exhaled in pleasure, wishing to taste a piece. Her blue eyes watched as children dressed in simple princess and cowboy costumes lugged around their candy-filled bags. Their parents weren't close behind, smiling and recording their child's outing. Angel grinned slyly and nudged Sam, "Have you ever wanted children?"

"Yeah," he quickly stated and chuckled. "I just think I'm not meant to have children. I live the hunter lifestyle after all, which makes it difficult. Then, my family could be in danger of anything I hunt, which is something I'd never want."

Angel nodded in agreement. "You have a point. But, I don't think that should stop your dream from coming true. Everything happens for a reason, Sam."

He held onto her hand tighter and looked away, "You're right."

Something grabbed Angel by the shoulders and swooped her up into the air. Sam held onto her hand tightly and yelled, "Use your powers!"

Angel looked up to see the bat flying away with her in its claws. Her eyes met Sam's, desperation and worry filled them, and she simply stated, "Let me go."

He flinched when the words registered in his brain. "What?" His hand began to slip from hers.

"I'll find the man he took. It'll be okay." She had to stay courageous, or he wouldn't believe her. She was going to find that man, even if it got her killed. She would go down in a fight.

His fingers began to slip and he declared, "I will find you, I promise."

She nodded and let him go before the fall was too big. She watched as he fell to the soft dirt below, and the bat carried her off higher and higher into the air to its lair. All she could think about was killing this thing before it could lay a claw on that innocent man.

"It took her."

The words that came from the phone rang in Alice's ears. She didn't know how to react to that statement. Her beloved sister was taken by a giant bat creature. "I'm going to go look for her." She started to head to the front of the house until Sam spoke up.

"You aren't going alone." He paused for a second, "I'm in the front of the house."

Alice got into her sister's Camaro and instantly called Castiel. "Angel was taken. Sam and I are going to look for her."

"What exactly are we hunting?" he questioned. His deep voice was just the thing Alice needed to hear.

She put the call on speaker and asked Sam. He replied, "It's just a nocturnal bird creature thing. The Greeks didn't exactly know what it is, but that's the only description that comes close to it. There isn't any other information on it, so we're in the dark right now."

"Are you kidding me?" Dean asked. "This never works out for us, you know that Sammy. And now it has Angel. What if she can't handle it?"

"_She can handle it_," Alice stressed every word. Her head was starting to pound and her heart ached. Whenever they weren't sure of anything, they'd always worked as a team and gone in together. Here her older sister was foolishly going to a creature's lair, not knowing how to kill it for good. What if she got seriously injured? What if she really couldn't handle it? She knew her sister was secretly weak, for Alice was what held her up for so long. What if she didn't fight to her fullest strength? Alice didn't want to think of anything right now and just kept her eyes on the road.

"I told her I'd find her and I will. She's strong. She can handle anything that comes her way," Sam explained.

"We'll keep an eye out just in case we see it again," Dean remarked and hung up.

Alice put her phone away and looked out the window. The street lights only illuminated certain parts of the sidewalk and the trees themselves seemed like outlines of ghosts. It didn't take much to be creepy on Halloween night. "Why didn't she use her powers? She could have easily escaped."

Sam shook his head. "She was more concerned about the person it had taken. Her being taken is literally the only way we'll find the man. We don't have any information on this creature. Keep that in mind."

She noticed he was shaking while driving and talked to him to calm him down. "You really like her, don't you?" He simply nodded. "She feels the same, don't worry."

"I don't worry about that. I just worry about losing her. Every girl I have ever liked gets killed in one way or another. I don't want her to have the same fate," he whispered. His voice quivered and he rapidly blinked to keep back some tears.

Angel was thrown into a cave by the strix. She got up as it screeched at her, and she walked farther into the cave until she tripped over something. She turned on the flashlight on her phone and saw she tripped over a bloody carcass. She cringed and tried not to pay attention to the blood that stained her leg. The cave had an odorous stench to it, burning the inside of Angel's nose. She could hear the soft drop of water from afar. The strix made noises and clicking sounds. It pecked at her skin and she screamed when it took a chunk of skin out of her. She didn't think it would actually try to bite her, so she pulled out her pistol and shot it. The strix shrieked and flapped its wings about. She got up and ran farther into the cave, zoning in on the man that was lying on the floor. "Are you alright?" She asked quickly and pulled out her sword.

"Yeah…What is that thing?" He seemed truly horrified. He was rocking back and forth in his clown costume, which was drenched in blood, sweat and tears, literally. He wreaked of alcohol and to make it worse, he had barfed a few feet away from where he was sitting.

"Nothing important. Let's get out of here." She waited for him to get up and lead him down the cave. The creature was waiting at the entrance for them. She could see the blood drain from the bullet wounds out of its grey, furry body. Its yellow eyes stared directly at her and it made a few sounds. "You want a challenge, big guy? Come and get me." The strix charged at her and she held onto the man. When it got close enough, she used her powers to make the strix ghost through her and the man. She urged the man to run away from the cave and to get help. She had to stay behind. He did as she asked and ran into the woods and toward the street.

"For a bat creature, you don't really rely on sound, do you? I guess that gives you a bird-like characteristic." Angel swung her sword around and straightened herself out. The bat charged once more, and Angel stabbed it in the wing. It knocked her over, only causing her to kick it in the shins. It scratched at her face and bit her arm. She stabbed it in the other wing and slashed it across, that way it wouldn't be able to fly away. She yelled and punched when it sat on top of her, trying to nip at her neck to make her bleed to death. The bat's smell left a foul odor in her nose and its fir was rough and frayed together. She forced her sword through its chest and, when it backed away, cut its head off. Angel fell to the floor and took off her belt. It was a fake belt to the costume, but she simply wrapped it around her leg to cut off the blood flow. It wouldn't do much since she had to walk, but it was the least she could do. She stuffed her gun and her keys in her pocket, and called Alice.

She picked up instantly, "Where are you?"

"I don't know. Can Cas teleport to me?"

"Yeah, just pray to him and he'll know exactly where you're at," Sam answered.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys back at the motel." With that, she hung up. She closed her eyes and focused on Castiel. "Cas, I know you can hear me. Please help me get back to the motel. I don't-"

"You called?" Cas was standing right in front of her as she opened her eyes. He was still wearing his Jack Skellington costume and makeup, which surely would make Alice happy.

"Yeah. I slain big ugly here and I need a ride back to the motel. I can't really walk," she pointed to her leg, which had a huge chunk ripped out of her.

His face was as straight as a pole and he said, "It'll just be one second."

One second they were there, and the next they weren't.


	7. Chapter 7

Angel pulled up to a crime scene with Alice in the passenger seat. They got out and straightened up their suits. Angel's wavy brown hair lay against her black suit and parts of her light blue shirt. Alice's curly red hair looked picture perfect as a breeze swept by; her gray suit matched with her purple blouse. They showed the cop that was standing outside of the police tape their badges, and with a curious look, he let them through. They met up with the lead homicide detective and Angel questioned, "So, this is the second victim?"

"Who do you think you are?" The man asked them with a glare. They both showed him their badges and he looked at them skeptically. "So, Ms….Spencer," he directed the conversation to Angel, "Why does the FBI have an interest in this case?"

"After how mysterious the first death was, we were sent here to investigate. In your report, you stated that there was forced entry, but there were bloody footprints that matched nothing humanlike," Angel declared.

"Also, in the coroner's report, the victim was torn apart by…" Alice raised an eyebrow and continued, "something relating to spears?"

The man scoffed, "I know. It sounds insane. Whatever tore it apart didn't use its hands. But we can't think of anything that would break into someone's house to tear them apart and just leave."

Angel nodded in the direction of the crime scene. "What happened there?"

He walked towards the scene and pointed at the window. "Something broke through the window, leaving some blood, and attacked the victim. It seems like the same creature that killed the first victim." Alice looked at the deformed body. The body was mangled to where she could barely see the victim's face. The girl's arm was bent backwards and her leg was broken. Pieces of the bone were jagged and sticking out of her skin. She was a bloody pulp. Alice cringed and backed away. Her stomach began to churn. "Don't like crime scenes, Ms. Guster?" The detective asked.

"I don't like seeing bodies that torn apart," Alice took a step outside for a breath of fresh air. She leaned against the house and swallowed some spit. If she kept her cool, she wouldn't hurl chunks into the bushes. That'd be embarrassing. She watched as the sun started to crawl higher into the sky and the puffy white clouds swam by.

Angel came out of the house a few seconds later and motioned her sister to the car. "You got any idea what it could be?"

"No. Then again, what we hunt is not natural," she answered as she got into the car.

Angel dialed Sam's number and put the call on speaker. When he picked up, she stated, "They don't know what it is."

"Well, that's great," he sighed.

"Can you see what the victims have in common?" Alice added. She changed the radio station and Angel smacked her hand.

"You know that the driver gets to pick the station, right?"

Alice rolled her eyes as Sam typed away on his laptop. "Where's Dean and Cas?"

"They're out talking to the parents of the first victim." Sam huffed and said, "So, get this. They go to the same high school, but they're both bullies to this one kid. He has a blog and seems really nerdy."

Angel scoffed, "Hey, nerdy isn't bad!" She raised an eyebrow and kept her eyes on the road. She shared a look with Alice and both of them knew they were right.

Sam chuckled. "Didn't say it was, darling."

"What does it say on his blog?" Alice asked. She gazed around, making sure that the detective wasn't following them.

"He's a gamer. He talks about games he's played and how much he hates the people at school. Other than that, he's a regular high school kid."

"Where does he live?" Angel asked as she turned a corner. She turned to her sister and gave her a certain look. Alice knew that look too well. Her sister had an idea.

When they arrived at the teenager's house, Angel stopped the car. She didn't get out right away and held her sister back. "Do you think he found a way to create videogame monsters?"

Alice knit her eyebrows together and cocked her head, "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know. Sometimes nerds are really smart and can create the impossible. Especially with the help of magic or sorcery, anyone can make anything possible." Angel fixed her makeup in the mirror and got out of the car.

"He could have, but we need to find out more information before we can accuse this kid of anything," Alice defended him. She didn't want to blame the underdog for anything. After all, some kids try to defend themselves, but these murders might not be his doing.

Angel knocked on the door and a teenage boy answered the door. He was tall and scrawny, with grey eyes and blonde hair. His voice was at a medium pitch, "Yes, can I help you?"

They showed him their badges and Alice said, "May we ask you a few questions, Bryan?"

"What's going on here?" The boy's mother came up behind him. He was the spin image of his mother.

"They're FBI agents here to ask me some questions." He answered her.

"Questions about what?" Her eyes widened and she gazed at Angel and Alice suspiciously.

Angel showed her the badge for reassurance, "We're not here to accuse anyone of anything, Mrs. Lial. We just want to ask your son a few questions about his fellow classmates that have passed within this week."

"Come in," The mother said. She moved her son out of the way and let the girls step inside. Their house was small and the furniture was wild with colors. Antiques of every kind sat in the room in different places, like a grandfather clock, lamp, cabinet, and more. The brown couch sat against the window and there were a few chairs sitting across from them with a coffee table in the middle. The brown carpet looked good against the bright, yellow walls. The big window brought in a ton of sunlight, heating up the room against the chilly weather. The Montgomery sisters sat on the couch and observed Bryan's actions. "It's so sad that those kids died." Mrs. Lial said sadly.

"Did you know the victims well, Bryan?" Angel interrogated. She adjusted in her seat and crossed her legs. She licked her lips and watched their expressions.

"No, they weren't my friends." The boy kept his lips tight and his facial expression blank. He didn't reveal anything to them.

Alice thought for a second and pursed her lips. "What kind of reputation did they have around the school?"

Bryan crossed his arms. "They weren't well liked."

"Were they bullying kids?" Angel raised an eyebrow. When Bryan didn't answer, she sat up and leaned forward. "You can tell us if they were bullying you, Bryan. You won't get in trouble." He sighed and nodded. Angel smiled sympathetically, "They won't bully you anymore. Bryan, was it cyber bullying?" He nodded once more.

Alice asked him nicely, "Can you show me the messages, Bryan?" Angel stayed behind to talk to his mother. Alice followed him upstairs to his room, which when she entered, looked like a complete pigsty. Cups and chip bags were everywhere and clothes littered the floor. His bed was messy and the room smelled of dirty socks and few days old pizza. His walls were covered with posters from sci-fi movies and video games. Her eyes glanced around to see if he had an alter of any kind, or a weird contraption that could somehow make videogame characters real. He showed her the messages and stayed silent the whole time. She read them one by one.

_Gain some muscles, twiggy._

_Maybe if you didn't lock yourself in your room like a geek and waste your life away, then maybe people would actually like you._

_You're just a speck of dust in this world. Who would miss you?_

_Kill yourself._

Alice's heart broke at all of the messages. He didn't even try to defend himself. He just let it slide, and they kept making fun of him. Telling him to kill himself? That crosses the line. Maybe they deserved to die. "I'm so sorry, Bryan." He shrugged and she tried to lighten the mood. "What's your favorite videogame?"

"The _Dead Space_ trilogy is my favorite."

Alice smiled and said, "I haven't played the third one yet. How is it?"

"Different."

One word answers. He clearly didn't want to talk to her. She walked out of the room and back downstairs to her sister, who was already waiting at the door. "Done?" Angel asked.

"Yeah. I've got everything we need to know." Alice bid them goodbye and the Montgomery sisters walked out of the door and into the car. "I hate to tell you this, but I think you're right."

"Videogame monsters? Are you serious?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"What? You got a better idea, Mr. Know-It-All?" Angel challenged him.

He simply laughed, "Any idea is better than that. How would he make them real?"

"Do you really want to fight me over a possibility?" Angel narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, I'd win any day."

Angel stood up. "Prove it."

"I'm not going to fight a girl," he scoffed.

She smirked, "What, too scared?"

"You wish." He gave her a dirty look and she imitated him.

"You know I'd win," Angel declared and put her hands on her hips. Dean stood up and Angel got into a stance.

"If I win, what do I get?"

"Winner gets a whole pie to themselves." She locked her blue eyes on his green ones and calmed herself. Dean's eyes lit up at the sound of pie and he took his stance. She put her fists up, "Hit me with your best shot."

"Oh, I will," Dean threw his fist at her, and she easily dodged it.

She punched him square in the jaw and he quickly rebounded. Dean's fist came into contact with her rib cage. She stayed in place and laughed, "You hit like a girl."

Dean's eyes contained a fire in them that burned brightly. He clenched his jaw and punched her in the jaw. She quickly blocked his kick that came next and pushed him into the wall. The wall rattled with all of the paintings on it and he accidentally threw the stuff off of the bedroom table. He smirked and she kicked him. Someone came into the room and Angel's attention was drawn to them. Dean took advantage of the moment and tripped her. He pinned her down easily and chuckled. Angel stopped to breathe for a second. She had to register what was going on. The room exploded with heat and his hot breath hit her face as he spoke, "Looks like I get that pie after all."

Angel clenched her jaw and pushed him off of her. "Fine." She got up and brushed herself off. "You get a cherry pie."

"I'm good with that," he smirked and took a seat. He fixed his jaw and checked for blood.

Castiel stood in the doorway and cocked his head in confusion. "Do I want to know what just happened?"

We both shook our heads and Angel fixed her hair. "What's up, Cas?"

"I wanted to know how the investigation was coming along," he answered simply.

"We've hit a dead end. I can't think of how he would make videogame characters real," Angel sat down next to Dean, who put his legs on her. She cringed, yet left his legs there. He leaned back and got comfortable. "I am not a table where you can put your feet."

"Yeah, well, I'm feeling pretty good right now. I won a fight against you. You're the most badass chick I've ever known, so I'm on top of the world right now." He closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head for cushion.

"Yeah, well now you're at the bottom," Angel pushed him off of the couch and he hit the floor. He growled and tackled her again, rolling on the floor, pulling at each other's hair and biting each other. "You're such a child!" She screamed.

"Nuh-uh!" Dean yelled.

Cas grabbed both of them by the arm and yanked them off of the floor. "Stop it, both of you," he said sternly.

"He started it!" Angel called out. She crossed her arms and pouted.

"She started it," he made a face at her.

Cas let both of them go and gave them looks. "Stop acting like children. We need to figure this case out before another child dies."

Dean asked, "Since when did you become so caring for other people?"

"I have always loved God's creations. Humans are interesting creatures. They choose to be just or unjust, and alter their destinies left and right without them even knowing. Some are caring, some aren't." He glimpsed away and went back to the regular conversation. "How could Bryan be killing his classmates?"

"I don't know. Maybe he made a deal with a crossroads demon?" Dean suggested as he sat back down on the couch. He glared at Angel as she sat down in the chair opposite of him, returning a glare of her own.

"That makes sense. It'd surely give him the power to do anything he wanted." Angel agreed.

Alice raced into the room with a laptop and slammed the door in Sam's face. "Guess what!" All three of them waited until she spoke again. "Bryan posted a blog bashing the last victim just an hour before they died! That's the same exact thing that happened for the first victim."

"Well, we have a lead," Castiel nodded.

Sam opened the door and glared at Alice. "Alice mentioned to me that he really loved the videogame _Dead Space_, and guess what I found out." When no one answered, yet again, he continued. "There's a Necromorph that you face constantly in the second game called a Slasher. Their arms literally blade-like bone swords. It looks pretty awesome."

"Yeah, but two people were killed by this thing," Angel pointed out and crossed her legs.

"Guys, we have a problem," Alice whispered. The corners of her mouth fell and her eyes narrowed. "He just blogged something new, and it's about another student."

"Give me a name, I'll find out where they live," Sam stated quickly. After she told him, his fingers typed so fast on the board that it was so hard to keep up. He gave Cas and Alice the address, and after Angel threw the keys at them to her car, they ran out of the motel room.

"Guess we have to go find this kid. Trace his cell phone," Angel got up and went to get her weapons.

"A please wouldn't kill you," Sam remarked.

She ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him, "Please." She kissed his cheek, which was growing stubble, and walked away to get ready.

"Wow, that's the first time I've heard you say please." Dean teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Shut up."

"Got it. He's at a factory on the other side of town."


	8. Chapter 8

Sam, Dean, and Angel got out of the Impala and armed themselves. Angel pulled out her automatic weapon and walked quietly to the empty factory. Dean got in front of Angel, but she pushed him behind her. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a weird look. "We don't know what we're going to come across. You might as well stay behind me."

"No, it's fine. Monsters are monsters. I think I can handle it," he pushed passed her and proceeded.

She gazed at Sam, who only gave a What-The-Hell look and shrugged his shoulders. The old building was dark and desolate. There were cracks in the walls everywhere and shadows lurked in every corner. The aroma of rotting flesh floated in the air and made Angel cringe. She almost gagged on it, but she had to trudge on. She saw something in the corner of her eye and pointed the flashlight attached to her gun at it. She stopped and nudged Sam, and in turn, he nudged Dean. Angel shined the light on a clicker from the game _The Last of Us._ It was blind and could detect anything by sound. The clicker looked ugly. It's head was deformed from the fungi that covered it in most places. She could only see its mouth as it drooled and the teeth were falling off. Its clothes were torn up and gashes were clearly seen in its body. The limbs were nearly falling off, but in tact to where it still functioned. It made clicking sounds and talked to itself as it looked at the wall blankly without its eyes. Sam stepped on a few leaves and the clicker went ballistic. He ran towards us and we immediately fired at it. It went down after we emptied half of our clips into it, and it collapsed onto the floor.

"Would you mind telling me WHAT THE HELL THAT WAS?" Dean yelled at Angel. He set his gun down to his side and looked at her with large, fierce eyes.

"That was a clicker from a videogame I've played. It hunts based off of sound. That's all you need to know." Angel marched ahead, leaving them to follow her lead. She walked down the empty corridor with furniture thrown everywhere and the smell of death grew stronger. The sound of a woman crying in the distance caught Angel's attention, and she stopped in her tracks. The Winchesters caught on and stopped. "That's a witch, from the game _Left 4 Dead._ She'll attack and really injure one of us, so we have to be ready." She turned the corner and looked into the next room. There was nothing, so she proceeded to do that until she found the room where the witch was located. Angel motioned them over and entered the large room. The witch sat in the corner with her head in her hands. Her thin blonde hair ran down her back and her white pastel skin was torn up in several places. The gray tank top she wore was soaked in blood and dirt, and her pink underwear made her appear fragile. Her sobs became irritably loud, and Dean opened fire on her.

She screamed and got up, revealing her bright yellow eyes. She extended her long, sharp claws and ran straight for Dean. They all opened fire on her and emptied their clips. She ran in a zigzag formation, making it difficult to actually hit her. Dean panicked when she jumped him and started to scratch the hell out of his chest. He shrieked from the pain and tried to get her off of him. Angel yelled, "Stay down!" She pulled out her sword and chopped the witch's head off. The body slumped over next to Dean, and he sighed in relief. Sam helped him get bandages on his chest to make the bleeding stop. After the medical process was over, they marched on.

They entered a large room full of crates. It had a fair amount of lighting, but the air felt hot and heavy, as if it hadn't been aired out in weeks. Sam cringed and declared, "This is a great place to hide out. That kid is pretty smart."

"Yeah, well not too smart. We're definitely teaching him a lesson," Dean vowed.

"Is that Dean Winchester acting like a dad?" Angel questioned sarcastically.

Dean narrowed his eyes at her, "Shut up and get to work, Ms. Know-It-All."

She rolled her eyes and held onto her weapon tighter. She didn't know what she'd encounter next, and that was the frightening part. Angel walked on, turning corners left and right to make sure the path was clear. Sam and Dean followed suit, looking around as well.

A noise crashed from the corner. Sam yelled to Angel, "Look out!"

Alice and Castiel pulled up to the bully's house and killed the engine. The house was a beautiful yellow with white windows and a green lawn. It looked like the spin image of the perfect fifty's home with a white picket fence and all. She straightened out her suit and walked to the door. Cas followed behind and he rang the doorbell. He smiled at her before turning to the door, which put butterflies in Alice's stomach.

Tarence Lohart answered the door. He was overweight and his short, red hair matched the freckles on his face. His green eyes glared at them as he asked, "What do you want?"

"Can we talk to your parents?" Castiel asked him nicely.

"No." The boy shut the door.

Alice stuck her foot in the door before he closed it all the way. "Can we talk to your parents, please?" She showed him her badge and he eyed her mysteriously. He slammed the door open and said his parents weren't home. "Where are they?"

"Vacation." The boy simply answered.

"They left you here alone when they went on vacation? That's so sad," she declared in a moody tone. "They didn't leave you a babysitter or anything?"

Tarence snorted, "I'm old enough to not have a babysitter. Why do you care?"

"Not everyone has the privilege of having nice things," Cas stated simply.

"Why are you here? Why do you want to talk to my parents?" Mr. Lohart questioned impatiently. He tapped his foot and folded his arms across his chest.

Alice wanted to smack some manners into the boy, but simply replied, "I know you've been bullying a kid from your school. It's only going to bring you trouble. You know it's illegal to cyber bully, right?"

"Which little squirt told on me?" His eyes narrowed and anger filled his tone.

"Look, that's not important." Cas leaned against a chair. "You're in danger." Alice shot him a look, and Cas just gave her a shrug. "He was bound to find out."

"You've got to be joking. It's not like one of the nerdy kids sent an assassin to kill me."

Alice laughed internally. If only he knew what was after him. He'd be scared shitless. "Listen, kid, we're trying to help. Now, can we stay and keep you safe?"

"Safe from what, exactly?"

Alice shrugged. "Whatever is going to arrive at your doorstop in half an hour. Your guess is as good as mine."

Tarence glared at both of them, "How do you know what time it's going to get here? Did you plan this with him?"

Castiel furrowed his brow and stated sternly, "No, we didn't plan this with him. If we did, we wouldn't be here protecting you."

"We figured out that every time he blogged about a bully, the bully would die an hour later. If you don't want our help, we can leave through that door right now." When the boy didn't answer, Alice and Cas began to walk out.

"Wait!" The boy exclaimed. "I don't want to die."

Alice turned around on her heel and walked towards the living room. "Fine. You have to stay down here with us then. We have to keep an eye on you."

Alice made faces at Castiel the whole time, and he returned with his own faces. They laughed so hard and enjoyed the moment. "Alice." Castiel said her name.

Her heart fluttered around at the sound of his deep, angelic voice saying her name. She batted her eyelashes, "Yeah, Cas?"

"I-"

Something broke through the backdoor and Alice instantly shot up. She pulled out her pistol and made her way to the back. A Slasher from _Dead Space 2_ gazed around the bright yellow kitchen. It had a human face that was torn up and mangled, leaving dark, desolate eyes and stringy, black hair. The Slasher's arms were huge and towered over its head. The long, bone bladed arms reached its pigeon toed feet. Another pair of small arms appeared on its abdomen. The skin on the creature was a pale color, and almost as if its flesh was burned all over. She could clearly see its spine, for it was forcing its way out of its back. "You are one ugly motherfucker." Alice opened fire on its face, making it screech from the pain. It came at her, throwing its sharp blades around, and she ducked out of the way. The Slasher's arm got stuck in the wall, and left a window of opportunity for Alice to open fire on it.

Castiel rushed into the room and found the creature not dying. He fried its eyes out and it fell to the floor, twitching uncontrollably. Alice stomped on its head, crushing it under her weight. "Well, that was fun," she commented with a small laugh. Cas cocked his head slightly and closed his eyes. "What? What is it?"

"Dean needs my help. They're getting their asses kicked over there. I need to go. Can you handle protecting him?" Alice nodded. With that, Cas disappeared.

Alice sighed and put her gun back in its holster. It was boiling hot from being fired so much. In the next second, Castiel appeared right in front of her, kissed her on the lips softly, and disappeared again. Alice stood there shocked. _He…He made the first move. Cas just kissed me._ Her blue eyes widened at the words she just thought of. She put her fingers up to her lips and felt how warm they were. Her heart raced and her thoughts clouded her mind. She jumped out of excitement, getting her shoes drenched in the Slasher's blood, but she didn't care. His lips tasted sweet like honey, and the way his lips felt against hers, so soft yet so passionate, drove Alice insane. She sighed in content and felt the ground shake. She came back to reality and ran to the front side of the house.

She peered outside the window to see a Brute from the same game make its way to the house. The Necromorph used its large hands to get around, much like a gorilla, and it was double the size of Alice. It was gangly and ugly with a hard exoskeleton to protect it. It oozed yellow goop and she could see the muscle fibers in its skin. The stomach was huge and wrapped together in layers of old, crusty skin. The Brute's face was utterly terrifying. She knew it was like that from the game, but in real life, it reached the maximum level of horrifying. Its eyes were completely white; the Brute didn't even have a lower jaw. Giant spikes forced its way out of its cheekbones and upper jaw, creating sharp teeth for it to rip someone's arm off. Her heart dropped and she snapped up some automatic rifles.

The boy shrieked in terror and Alice laughed. "Since you bullied Bryan, maybe I should let him kill you." The boy gave her crazy eyes and shook his head rapidly as tears ran down his face. "But, I'm in a good mood today." She loaded her weapon up and cracked her neck. "Come to Mama."

A Charger from _Left 4 Dead _crashed into Angel and pushed her into the wall behind her with so much pressure that it broke her rib cage into bits. Its head was small compared to its gigantic frame. The Charger had a giant arm that was cracked to look like it contained cold lava inside its skin. Blood oozed out of the cracks and its eye sockets, and its skin was a sickly yellow. The small arm flung in the air and reached for its toes at times, where its feet were twice the size of its head. The only clothing he had on was a pair of blue jean overalls. She fired her gun at its abdomen and quickly ran out of ammo. Sam and Dean did the same, and soon, it let go. The Charger dropped to the floor, limp. Angel fell on top of it and cried out in pain. "Well, that hurt much more than I expected it to."

Dean reloaded his weapon and pointed it ahead. "Guys, I think we have a big problem here."

Angel cringed as she forced herself up and off of the bloody carcass of the Charger. She reloaded the gun with the clip she pulled out of her back pocket and coughed up some blood. She heard a loud thud come from the center of the room and her eyes snapped over to it. Angel coughed underneath her breath, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

An Ubermorph from _Dead Space 2_ made its way towards the group. The Necromorph was tall and brown skinned. Blood stained the leathery skin here and there, especially around its long, three pronged claws that protruded out of its collar bones. It had tiny claws coming out of its abdomen, which led down to its muscular, sharp, clawed feed. The rib cage was clearly visible, leading up to its short, stubby neck and its oddly shaped face. The face appeared to be similar to the mouth of a kraken, but the teeth were five white glowing eyes. The antennas were equally sharp as its claws, making it so when the Ubermorph dug into its victim, it ripped them apart at the same time. It marched its way toward them with its head held up high.

Sam put his arm out in front of Angel and cocked his gun. His touch was soft against her shirt and he looked back at her for a second with his wide, hazel eyes. "Stay back, alright? You took a critical hit."

Angel didn't listen. She shot at the Ubermorph and stated, "He's pretty much indestructible. There really isn't a way to kill him, well, not that the game stated. He regenerates too fast to do that."

"Are you kidding me?" Sam yelled and turned to Dean.

"Son of a bitch." Dean instantly called to Castiel for assistance.

Angel saw something moving in the corner of her eye. She turned to it and fired, hitting the target perfectly. She noticed it was Bryan, frantically locking himself in the backroom. That room didn't have an exit. Most of the rooms in this part of the building didn't have windows. "The boy's safe and in the back."

"Great, because I was so worried about the prick that sent these bitches to murder us," Dean commented as a smart ass. Dean went straight up towards it with the demon-killing knife made by the Kurds and slashed it. It screeched, which surprised Sam and Angel, and tried to attack him.

Angel ran to a different angle and shot at the Ubermorph. "Is Cas really going to come?"

"I would hope so." Sam took out a grenade, "Dean, take cover!" He did as he was told and Sam chucked it at the creature. Crates blew up beside it, wooden planks flying everywhere, sometimes hitting the creature, and it shrieked in terror. Then, it continued to march on.

After shooting all of their clips at it, they all threw their guns down. "We should just run."

"Not until I try this," Dean called out. He ran up to the creature and knifed its face. It instantly smacked him into a wall, cracking Dean's skull open. Blood poured out of it slowly and Dean's eyes closed.

"Dean!" Sam yelled. He ran over to his brother and the Ubermorph caught him. He chucked Sam into crates across the room. The impact made the jagged bone in his left arm break through his skin and a piece of wood was jabbed through his chest. His eyes were wide open and the blood trickled down the side of the wood.

"No!" Angel screamed. She fired her pistol at the demon, knowing it wouldn't do a thing, but she had to stall it until Cas got there. The Ubermorph marched on towards her, making her move backwards as she fired. She dropped the clip and reloaded quickly. She backed up all the way against the wall, and when it got close, she ghosted through the wall.

"Hey, assbut," Cas called out from behind it. Castiel stabbed the creature with a blade and used his hands to start frying him with his angel powers. A white light encumbered the room. Angel ended up in the backroom where Bryan locked himself in. She turned to the boy and questioned him. She clutched her ribcage and exhaled. "Why did you do all of this? Why did you kill those innocent people?"

"Innocent? They were anything far from innocent. They were bullies and made with anything but sweetness," he hissed. He clutched his right arm that the bullet had penetrated his skin.

"I'm sorry I shot you. I thought it was a creature," Angel stated and cringed. The pain was starting to get unbearable. It was getting hard to breathe and her head was spinning. Her insides were boiling up and she thought she was on the sun for a moment. She switched back to the original topic. "You shouldn't have had them killed because they bullied you. There are other ways that are better." He grasped a knife and made a subtle move towards her. "Son, don't make me do this. I don't want to shoot you."

"Then don't," Bryan declared. His expression was emotionless, even his tone was six feet under the ground. His face was a pale white and his dull eyes stared back at her.

"Hurting others doesn't make you better than the bullies. Murder is a serious crime. You could've left the bullies with guilt, but you had to take it a step further and now the guilt will be four times as much for you." His face changed to remorse. She was getting through to him. "How did you get these powers anyway?"

"I talked with this one man at a crossroad and he gave them to me."

Angel's heart hurt. The poor boy didn't know what he was getting into. "Please, just stop hurting people. The creatures might be cool in the videogames, but in reality, they do terrible things. They murdered my friend and my boyfriend!" Her anger boiled up inside of her. "Please, stop, for your mother's sake. She looked like she really depended on you to keep her up. I'm sure she wouldn't want to lose her son over something so dark." _If only Bryan knew he sold his soul and in ten years, the hellhounds will collect his soul and he'll go to hell. _She thought. What's done is done. There wasn't anything that could be changed now. The boy gave up and nodded. He knew he had to keep his mother up and alive. "Now go, before I change my mind and press charges later." Bryan ran out of the room.

Angel fell to the floor, coughing up blood and spewing it across the concrete. She could feel her broken rib cage move around and puncture her internal organs. Her eyes wandered to the ceiling and she put the gun beside her. Her world was spinning frantically and she couldn't get a hold of herself. Sam rushed into the room and found her on the floor. He picked Angel up gently and held her in his arms. "Angel, stay with me, please."

She coughed up more blood, getting it all over her clothes. She shook her head and her large blue eyes stared at him. "You died…" Angel trailed off.

He nodded and called Castiel before saying, "Castiel revived us. Dean died too. I guess we really weren't prepared." His hazel eyes glimpsed at her in a caring way and his expression seemed as innocently hurt as a puppy's. Angel's breathing faded and Sam yelled her name.

Angel shot up from a couch and inhaled loudly. A bright light was shining in from the big window next to her. She had to squint in order to comprehend where she was at. Angel's breath hitched.

She was in her childhood home. The inside was just like it was when she last saw it. The bright green walls were painted on perfectly; the brown wooden flooring was freshly polished; the white laced curtains flowed with the wind entering from outside; the furniture was mix and matched between antiques and different colors of fall furniture; pictures hung on the walls along with posters and signatures from different actors; the giant television sat next to the display case full of her mother's collectibles; the weird thing was that there was a feel to the room, almost like the room was filled with life even though it had been empty for years. Angel's eyes wandered around, her heart yearning for the warmth and smell of the home she grew up in. The white doors were open and she could peer into the dining room. She saw a woman sitting at the table.

Angel immediately got up and ran to her. She wrapped her arms around the woman. The woman's straight, soft brown hair rubbed against Angel's arms and her quiet voice met her ears, "I've missed you so much."

"Mom, I've missed you more than anything in the world…" Angel trailed off and took in the delicious fragrant her mother was wearing.

Her mother closed her blue eyes and winced before she talked again. "You need to go back, sweetie."

Angel's heart shattered. Her mother was there. She was real. She heard her voice, felt her touch, it was all so genuine. Now she was telling her that she had to go back? Ripped away from her yet another time? "What?"

"Alice needs you. You need to go back to protect her and be there for her. She may not need you as much as you need her, but she will be so torn to hear that you died. You're all she's got. You and her against the world, remember? I lectured you two on this all the time."

Angel shook her head and put her cheek on her mother's shoulder. "I once heard that family don't end with blood, and it's true. We've found the Winchesters and Alice fell in love with Castiel. They're part of the new family we've made. She has them. You just said she doesn't need me as much as I need her. What if she dies before me? What will I do then?"

Her mother turned to face her, grinning from ear-to-ear. Her sky blue eyes sparkled in the light and an angelic glow formed around her. She put her hands on Angel's face. "You've really grown up, Angel. You've raised your sister well and things will get better. I promise. Keep doing what you're doing. Save people. Hunt things. It will always be the family business." A tear ran down her soft cheek. "I love you. Tell my baby girl that I love her too."

"Mom-"

Angel inhaled loudly and her blue eyes shot open. Sam wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug and she squinted in pain. "Not so hard."

"I'm sorry," he loosened his grip and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. "You died in my arms…"

Castiel fell down beside them and pinched the bridge of his nose in pain. His eyes were closed and he exhaled in frustration. "You're lucky that I care about you, or you would've stayed dead." He looked down at Angel with his ocean blue eyes. "I used most of my powers reviving all of you. It took a lot to pull your spirit back into your body. You were almost too far gone out of my reach."

"Thank you, Cas," Sam and Angel said simultaneously. He helped her up using one arm, for the other arm was limp, and she clutched her rib cage. It was still scratching against her skin in tiny pieces, but at least her internal organs weren't bleeding out. They both limped to the Impala to find Dean sitting on the hood of the car.

"Wow, don't you look good as new," Angel commented sarcastically.

He moved his grey shirt over to reveal his purple collar bone. "Collar bone is broken."

"That's better than broken ribs," Angel coughed and cringed from the pain. Sam and I got into the backseat as Cas and Dean got into the front. Angel yelped quietly to herself. Sam gazed over at her with concern and wrinkled his forehead into his signature puppy look. "I'm so hurt…mentally…physically…emotionally…"

"Your soul is what's you and no one can ever cut into it, only your body. No one can truly hurt you emotionally unless you let them." He paused. "What happened?" Sam questioned.

Angel's eyes wandered to the floor of the car. It burned her heart to even remember what happened. Her lips moved, but words failed to escape her throat. Her voice broke, "I saw my mother." Sam grabbed her hand and his lip twitched. Both of them stayed quiet during the ride back to the motel, and while the two boys up front talked about something irrelevant to their whole day. They stayed stern, didn't laugh, but some extent to enjoyment was caught in their tones. They were really proud of what they had accomplished.

Another job done.

Another live saved.

Other things killed.

All was good so far.

Angel sat Alice down on her bed and plopped down across from her. The bandages that covered her wounds made it slightly easier to move around, but not much. She was tired. Tired of everything. Tired of doing the same thing, day in and day out. Tired of what she did best; what she did best was her only way of life. She couldn't stop. Not now. She saved people. She met the Winchesters and Castiel. All was right. Angel was just tired. She blatantly told her sister, "I died today and saw Mom."

Alice's blue eyes doubled in size and her attention was fully on her. Her whole body stiffened up and she set her hands down on the bed to support herself. "How is she doing? How did she look?"

"Alice, she's dead. She looks great. Never looked better. She looked…happy," Angel turned away in disgrace at the words that she just spout out. Her mother happy that she was dead and in heaven? Yeah, right. But that's exactly how she appeared. Happy with not a care in the world.

Alice's voice quieted down to a low key. Her bright blue eyes darkened as she pushed back her red hair. "Did you want to stay up there?"

_What do I do? If I say yes, I might break her heart. If I don't, then she'll be fine._ Angel contemplated. She shook her head and replied, "Not while my little sis is still kicking ass and taking names. Someone has to watch out for you and take good care of you."

"You could have stayed with Mom. I have Cas." Angel's heart shattered. Of all the things her sister could have ever said to her, that one hurt the most. Alice seemed to notice and quickly stated, "I didn't mean it like that. I just want you to be happy."

Angel put on a fake smile to cover up the stitches her bleeding heart needed. "I am very content with you and Sam in my life. Dean is like the older brother I never had. It's a refreshing start that I've always needed. So, life is good down here and I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Her sister hugged her gently and beamed, "I'm sorry."

Angel returned the hug, but it didn't fix the way she felt. Alice didn't need her. It was clear that Angel needed Alice more than Alice needed her, but she never thought that she wouldn't need her at all. That burned her the most. Angel wondered if Dean felt the same way about Sam. If he has had any troubles at all in their relationship. She was going to take an educated guess and say of course. The Montgomery sisters were as close as the Winchesters, but were they basically in the same relationship? The older siblings and younger siblings were so much alike that it's possible, but Angel didn't want to think that way. Both pairs of siblings in heartbreak wouldn't end too well for them. _I'm too dependent on having my little sister with me._ Angel bowed her head and brooded the rest of the day.


	9. Chapter 9-Year 3

Dean kicked in the front door to a house they had been investigating. He walked in cautiously with his hatchet, and Angel and Castiel followed suit. The house was dark and desolate; the atmosphere was cold and murky. Dean heard chanting coming from the next room, so he motioned them in that same direction. Angel grasped onto her blade tighter, for she didn't want to lose it if attacked. Castiel was holding his angel blade, which literally could kill anything, and his blue eyes glimpsed around quickly. They were like stealthy ninjas, going from room to room trying to look for the culprit.

There she was. The witch. She was hovering over a table and chanting a spell in another language. A small bowl of fire was set up next to her and she was throwing some powder into it. Dean got closer and raised his blade. The witch spun around, chanted something, and threw the powder at them, making them black out.

Alice and Sam went through the back entrance just in case the witch tried to escape. When they came up with nothing in five minutes, they went inside to check the place out. She walked into the room full of the sounds of meowing and saw three kittens. There was a black one, a white one, and a brown one. They were so tiny and fluffy that her heart exploded with adorableness. She immediately ran over to them and squealed. She picked up the black one and looked into its bright blue eyes. "Aw, who's the cutest wittle kitten in the whole wide world?"

"I am the cutest little kitten in the whole wide world," it replied in a deep voice. Alice stared at the kitten in amazement and stroked its head. The kitten curled up to her touch and made cute meowing noises.

Sam came into the room and cocked his head. He made a confused face and asked, "Why are there kittens here?"

"I think a better question is why aren't kittens here?" Alice squealed.

The white one turned to the brown kitten, "Aw, Dean, you look so adorable!"

The brown one made an angry face, which in reality was too cute for existence, and hissed, "Shut up."

The white kitten stuck her tongue out, "Make me."

The kittens started to fight, taking out their sharp claws and rolling on the ground. "Are these kittens the rest of our group?" Sam asked in disbelief. "The witch turned them into kittens!" He heard the two kittens screeching and looked over at them. He went over to the kittens fighting and picked them up by their necks. "Stop it, you two!"

Angel gave Sam the biggest, bluest eyes with a little piece of her tongue sticking out. Sam melted and his hazel eyes widened. "I'm so sorry!" He hugged her and she nuzzled up against him, purring softly. "You're too cute."

Dean sneezed and his eyelids were half open, giving him a dazed look. "Guys…I think I'm allergic to myself." He rubbed his nose with his brown paw and sneezed again.

"Oh, God, you are allergic to cats!" Sam smacked himself on the forehead. "There's nothing we can do now. Where did the witch go?"

"She bolted after she turned us into cats," Castiel purred from Alice's hands.

Sam put Dean in the palm of his hand and set Angel on his right shoulder. "How the hell did she even know we were here?" Dean questioned, making his voice go deeper to contain some manliness as he was a kitten.

Angel perched on Sam's shoulder and licked her paw. "She could have been a powerful witch. We just need something to blackmail her with and then vanquish her."

Alice furrowed her brow and looked at Angel. "Vanquish her? What are we, witches ourselves?"

"No, but we can be. That'd be the perfect plan. Find a spell we can use on her to take away her powers and then kill her," Angel explained.

Sam thought for a moment before making his What-the-Hell face. "That could work. She has killed around seven people in this town. She'll only kill more."

"Let's go then." Castiel jumped out of Alice's hands and ran across the floor. Sam and Alice watched as he ran as fast as he could, when in reality it was only a few inches a second. He was tiny and couldn't get far. Alice squealed again out of pure joy and watched him try to go faster. Sam shook his head and walked out the door before Cas could even get to it. Alice picked Cas up, along with everyone's clothes and weapons, and set him on her shoulder. When they started to drive off in the Impala, Dean was sticking his head out of the window while Sam drove the car. Alice kept her window closed and pet Cas as he sat on her shoulder, licking his paws. Angel snuggled up against Sam's neck and purred softly.

"Stop, that tickles," Sam laughed.

"It's only my fur that's tickling you. This feels good," Angel commented, still rubbing against his neck.

Dean sneezed so hard that he flew out of the window. In the next second, everyone heard a cat screeching from the side of the car. "Balls," Sam stepped hard on the brakes, making Angel fly into the windshield. She slid down and groaned in pain.

Castiel dropped into Alice's shirt and panicked. "Why is it so hot in here?" He clawed his way up to the top of her tank top and set his paws out in front of it. He perched himself there and sighed in content, "There's a good view of outside from here."

Sam apologized, "I am so sorry." He picked Angel up, who was half in a daze, and set her on his head. "We have to go get Dean, so everyone hang on." He put the car into reverse and stopped when he saw Dean. Sam opened the door for his brother and the kitten climbed into the car.

Dean ran over to Alice and looked up. "Why does Cas get the good spot?"

She picked him up and set him in her lap. "He's not complaining, so he stays." Dean curled up into a ball in her lap and yawned. The yawn came out as a squeak, making Angel laugh at him. "I'm going to take a catnap." He shot her a glare before falling asleep.

Angel played around with Sammy's hair, rubbing herself against the softness or looking at how shiny it was. He would laugh because it would tickle, causing her to only do it more. She enjoyed hearing him laugh, because it was something he didn't do so often. Usually, they would find a job, kill the creature, go back to the motel, sleep, and repeat the process. The group hardly had any time to laugh anymore. Day in and day out, it was just work. Angel was curious to know if everyone was doing okay, or if they were getting bored like she was. She needed fun. They needed to have a ten minute talk and just be themselves for a second, instead of killing machines like they had been. She watched the trees go by until they got back to the motel.

Alice set fast food on the table in the motel room. Sam didn't look up from his computer screen and just kept typing away as he lie on his bed. His forehead was wrinkled and his tired eyes gazed at the screen. He bit his lip and whispered things to himself as he researched the witch and her possible whereabouts. Angel was sleeping soundly on his chest, appearing small and as fragile as glass, while Dean and Cas tried to catch a fly in the room. Alice tried so hard not to laugh, "I'm still shocked she turned you guys into kittens."

"Shut up," Dean yelled to her.

Cas pushed him, "Don't tell her to shut up, that's rude."

Dean pushed him back, "Do you wanna go, Cas?"

"Go where?" Cas cocked his head and squinted his eyes. Alice almost giggled in amusement because of how adorable he looked.

Dean pawed his own forehead and dragged it down his face. "Never mind."

Cas sat there and pondered about what he meant. Dean curled up into a ball in boredom. Angel stretched on Sam's chest and yawned, creating a high pitched squeal. She jumped off and landed next to Dean. She flopped on top of him and stayed there. "Dog pile!" Cas lit up because he knew what that meant and jumped on top of Angel. Dean groaned from underneath them and tried pushing them off.

Alice grabbed a ball of yarn she had bought at the store and brought it to them. "Here, play with this." Cas and Angel rolled over off of Dean and all three of them stared at the big purple ball in amazement. Angel went to play with it, but Dean fought her for it instantly. Cats screeching were heard and the claws were brought out again. As they fought in a white-brown blur, Cas continued to stare at the ball. His blue eyes were so wide and watched it as if he didn't know what to do with it. He almost prayed to it because of how godly it looked. Alice shook her head and handed Sam his food. "So, what did you find out?"

"She's been off the grid. I've checked for her cell phone, which is currently off, and she hasn't used any of her credit cards yet." He opened the plastic wrap containing his burger and bit into it. He licked the ketchup off of his fingers and spoke, "I'll keep an eye out."

Alice nodded and ate her meal. "So I guess I'm up for searching for a spell to vanquish her."

"What are we doing, sending her to purgatory?" Sam asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I guess, unless you simply want to strip her of her powers until we can kill her." Alice shrugged and sighed.

Dean was thrown into Sam's leg and accidentally scratched him. "Ow!" Sam cried. He was bleeding massively.

"Sorry, Sammy, but accidents don't happen accidentally," Dean commented and continued to fight Angel for the yarn. Cas was now on top of the purple ball of yarn, clinging to it and rolling around. Sam spilled a big blob of ketchup on his shirt and looked down at it sadly. He sighed and stripped of his red plaid shirt to reveal another plaid shirt underneath.

"That was so majestic, not gonna lie," Alice admitted to him in amazement.

He nodded and smiled cheekily, "I know."

Alice typed away on Sam's laptop and accidentally closed Google Chrome down. His wallpaper is a picture of Sam and Angel. She's sitting down in front of the screen wit a huge smile plastered onto her face; Sam had his arms draped around her neck and had a grin to match hers. They seemed so genuinely joyful that it made Alice's heart soar above the clouds for a second. She sensed the shyness radiating off of Sammy and she got onto the internet before she made an awkward tension. She searched up how to get rid of a witch's powers with a spell and wrote it down. "You know how to read Latin, right?"

Sam snorted, "Of course I do."

"There's also a list of things we need to get for the potion…" Alice trailed off.

"Potion?" Sam asked. Alice nodded. "What the hell do we need a potion for?"

"The spell only works if there's the potion's liquid at her feet. The potion is just for backup anyway. We don't know how powerful she really is, so having a potion ready might save our asses from being turned into something worse than kittens." She pointed to the three others.

Sam gazed over the list and said, "Where are we going to find a fragment of a dinosaur bone?"

"In a museum. It's the only thing that's recommended for the spell; we don't know how old and powerful she really is, so having something that can be equally ancient can take place of her piece of hair that we need."

"We're going to a museum?" Angel asked in excitement.

Alice's heart broke. They've never been to a museum before, but they always knew it held treasures of the past. "You can't go. You're a kitten."

She pouted and Dean instantly became sad too. "You can take us in your purse. She wants to go to the museum."

Sam and Alice gazed at one another and sighed.


	10. Chapter 10

The inside of the museum was bright white in the lobby, clean and pristine. The admissions office and the security office was open. The place was dead. The lady in the office was on the phone and fixed her painted nails. Sam purchased two tickets and Alice waited by the security office. She gazed at all of the paintings the museum had on its walls and wondered how much patience each painter had taken while painting the masterpieces. A soft meow could be heard coming from her big bag, and the security guard looked at her curiously. Alice smiled shyly and waved it off, "That's my ringtone. I'm in love with cats!" After the security guard nodded and went on his way, she sighed.

"Cas, you're supposed to be quiet! They'll have us kicked out!" Dean yelled quietly.

A soft thud was felt through the bag. "Ow, what was that for?" Dean asked.

"I didn't touch you," Cas stated.

"Both of you, hush. It's my first time in a museum and if you two get me kicked out I will be the end of both of you!" Angel threatened. The boys calmed down that instant, which means Angel gave them the look. Alice knew that look too well. Fire could be seen in her eyes, scorching the very land the victim walked on, even setting them into flame, and she put up a crooked grin to show exactly how much she'd enjoy doing it. It was like a You're-Dead-to-Me look more than anything else.

Sam walked over to Alice as he put money back into his brown wallet. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." They walked over to the dinosaur section slowly. They took in all of the sights to see, the artifacts, paintings, crafts, bones, everything until they got to their destination. It was a new place full of adventure and knowledge, something both of them hadn't come across in a while. The tan tiled room was huge. There were makeshift replicas of how the dinosaurs were supposed to look like, and next to it was a real life skeleton of each. Alice gazed in wonder at the T-Rex, pondering how terrifying it would be to come across one back then. Sam found his own interest in the Brachiosaurus. Alice took out the small bottle she was supposed to put the bone fragment in with a tiny knife. No one was in the exhibit with them, so why not? "Keep a look out," she whispered to him. He nodded and walked around the room, making sure he was facing the door. She went back to staring at the bones in amazement before asking Angel, "Isn't this remarkable?" When there was no answer, Alice peered inside her purse. "Where the fuck did they go?" Her eyes searched the room for the little rascals, but they were no where in sight. "Damn! Sam, we have a bigger problem here," she said after she scraped off a fragment of the bone.

He turned to her with wide eyes, "You aren't serious." She was surprised he knew exactly what she was about to say and simply nodded. He dragged his hand down his face in frustration, "Let's go find them before someone else does."

They split up and Alice knew exactly to go. She knew her sister so well, and figured out she would be in the Egyptian exhibit before looking at everything else the museum had to offer. She followed the fake golden hieroglyphic walls to the chamber of King Tut's tomb. Alice passed by cat statues, pots, plants, tables, chairs, thrones, and scrolls on the way there, not catching her interest at all. She was worried about her sister more than anything. Her eyes searched the replica tomb and caught sight of a white cat pawing at the mummy wrappings. "I feel so cheated! These wrappings aren't real!" Angel exclaimed in frustration. She huffed and sat down on the fake mummy.

Alice stared at her, catching Angel's attention. Angel's blue eyes widened and she gasped, "Uh-oh."

Alice grabbed her sister by the neck as she fought back. Angel threw her paws at her wrist to let her go, but she held on with a firm grip. "You were supposed to stay in my bag! I would have shown you everything!"

"I got bored. Dean left first!" She stuck her tongue out.

Alice rolled her eyes and stuffed Angel back inside of the purse. Angel pouted and mumbled words Alice didn't care to hear. Angel was being stubborn and childish, characteristics she hadn't seen in her sister before. Maybe being around the Winchesters gave Angel a new way of life to live by. Maybe it made her life more exciting. That's what Alice thought, anyway. She couldn't see it any other way.

Sam strolled into the World War exhibits and saw a group of people huddled in the corner pointing at one of the stages. On the stage was a jeep from World War II, a replica of Adolf Hitler with a Nazi flag behind him, and the average American Soldier. He peered closer to see a black cat climb its way into the jeep. His blood boiled and his cheeks reddened at how embarrassed he was. Sam got closer to hear one of the people called the security guards over, and they were on their way. Sam quickly grabbed Cas and apologized to the people before running off into the hall. He ran into Alice on the way out and they heard a crash before they could manage to utter a word to each other. Their eyes widened and went to see what the commotion was. In the animal exhibit, a brown bear was knocked over. Sam knew exactly who did it. "Damn it, Dean, why do you always have to do this?" Sam nearly pulled his hair out, but remained calm.

"Help! I'm stuck!" Dean shouted. Alice grabbed Castiel from Sam and put him in her purse with Angel to keep her company.

Sam groaned and rolled the stuffed bear over. Dean was stuck inside of its mouth and smiled at Sam shyly. "Come here." He reached his hand into the mouth of the bear, almost making it look like he was force feeding him a kitten, and grabbed a hold of Dean.

"Hey, hey! Be gentle. Fur like this doesn't come by easy, you know," Dean snorted.

Sam pulled Dean out successfully and put Dean back into the purse. Sam and Alice made a dash for the exit, but a security guard caught them before they could escape. Alice knew where this type of situation was headed and snapped up some money. She paid the security guard for the damages, two hundred dollars total, and they rushed out before they charged them for everything. Sam's face was red and filled with so much anger. Alice hadn't seen that before and seemed somewhat frightened. He was the kind of person you did not want to hang out with while they were in a bad mood. He remained like that for the first five minutes of the car ride until one of the kittens spoke up.

"I sense awkwardness," Cas whispered to Alice. She nodded before Sam went on a whole rant.

"I thought you guys knew better. You knew you had to stay with us because you couldn't go off without us. You're kittens for Christ sakes. You could have been seriously injured or possibly killed!" He yelled at the three. "Somebody could've picked you up and taken you. Then what?"

"Well, we would've been catnapped," Dean remarked sarcastically.

"Knee slapper!" Angel laughed and raised her paw, but then realized something. "I don't have knees right now…"

Sam rolled his eyes at the both of them and his lips tightened into a straight line. His forehead was crinkled and he tried so hard to stay mad and not laugh. "We wouldn't have found you. I don't know what I would've done with myself if we hadn't found you when we did."

"Sammy, I'm sorry," Angel apologized.

"Yeah, me too," Dean added.

Cas chimed in, "Me three."

Sam didn't reply and gave them the silent treatment. He focused on driving and exhaled loudly. He didn't take his eyes away from the road as the three of them desperately tried to get into the front seat. They all teamed up to launch each other on top of his head. That was when the song "Broken Glass" by Three Days Grace came onto the radio, and before Dean yelled to change it, they all listened to the lyrics. "All we are is broken glass. Thrown to the floor, we were never meant to last. All we are, are empty shells…"

The group quieted down, the kittens got down from their launch pad, and just sat back for a moment listening to the mesmerizing song. They all knew inside they were nothing but empty shells. They went through hell and back, some literally, and it made them think about their lives. They were on the move twenty-four-seven, never really had a place to call home in years, and they were so dependent on each other that it was sickening sometimes. The group managed to be so close for so long without realizing that. In that moment, the pain set in. The pain of a thousand burning suns on their skin. The pain of feeling like they were the most useless, but helpful people on the planet. Sometimes they thought they fucked up more than they helped anyone. Maybe that was the truth. Maybe they were blind to it all along, because they truly thought they saved people more than doing harm. They hunted things. It was the family business. But to what extent did that go? Did they really have to give up everything to satisfy the world and keep it a safer place? Was it really a safer place with monsters like these hunters? These hunters can be ruthless and get twisted around on what's wrong and what's right. Dean saw the fallen look on Angel's face and he knew her pain. He knew exactly what she was feeling because he felt the same way. Useless. Just another soldier in the war to take bullets and names. The awkward tension was thick, thick enough to have difficulty cutting it with a chainsaw. The kittens leaned back against the seat in a huddle together, listening to the song. Alice seemed quiet, but bobbed her head to the beat. Sam didn't have a reaction and just drove back to the motel. The group really was broken on the inside.

When they got back to the motel, Alice and Sam slept in different beds while the three kittens were forced to sleep on the couch. The three of them fought for the same spot until Angel decided to move to the farthest seat away from them on the couch. She curled up into a ball and hummed to herself until she almost fell asleep. She was awakened when something brushed against her skin. Her blue eyes opened to see Dean nuzzled up against her. "What are you doing?" She questioned in disbelief. Five seconds ago they were fighting over the same spot. Now he comes to her when she finally got comfortable?

"I'm cold. Sue me." He got into a comfortable position and knocked out.

She sighed to herself and watched as Cas came up on Dean's other side and lied next to him. He purred softly and drifted to sleep. Angel couldn't believe the nerve of these boys. They would fight over anything if given the chance to. Then again, she settled in with the thought that they were the closest family she's had in a while. Angel closed her eyes and continued to hum her song until she fell sound asleep on the soft couch.

Sam and Alice mixed the ingredients for the potion in a big black pot. They stood in silence, listening to the liquids spark against the dinosaur fragment. Alice watched the kittens sleep on the couch soundly as she smiled to herself. "I wish they would be nice like this all the time."

He scoffed, "You know who you're talking about, right?"

"The most stubborn and argumentative people on the planet, I know." Her eyes lit up. "Then there's Cas, who's super innocent. He gets along with a lot of people."

"Yeah, because he doesn't know that most people are rude and selfish," Sam stated. He put the mixture into a bottle and put a top on it. He handed it to Alice with a smirk on his face. "Let's go find this witch."

"Do you think that she'll turn them back?"

He stiffened at the thought and hesitated. "I don't know. I read that if we get the book and reverse the spell, we won't need her at all. It won't matter if we're trained or not."

Alice raised an eyebrow after huffing. "So the reversal spell isn't online?"

Sam nearly laughed, "If it were that easy, don't you think they'd be back to normal by now?"

She shrugged. "I think you'd leave them like that just to mess with them."

"Oh please, like I would do that. I'm an angel."

She laughed hysterically, wiping away some tears, and coughed up, "An angel? You might eat right and stay fit, but you are anything other than an angel."

"That's a lot of talk from someone who is just like me," he shot back.

"Yeah? Well at least I'm not in denial." She reloaded her gun and put it in its holster.

The car ride there was silent. No one messed around, no one talked, no one could even be heard breathing. Sam pulled up behind an old house. He got the three kittens out of the backseat and put them on the ground. "Stay close, and I mean it this time. I don't need one of you getting killed, especially since you're so fragile," Sam stated sternly. He pointed a finger at each of them and turned to Alice. "Sneak through the front. I'll cover the back."

Alice nodded and went to the front of the house. The house was old and creaky, almost like the one where she met Cas for the first time. The white wooden planks were chipped and the paint was coming off. The nails came unscrewed in certain places and the screen door practically hung on its hinges. She entered the house carefully, her pistol right in front of her each time she moved. The house was quiet, which picked at Alice's nerves. When everything was quiet, that's usually when the action started. She didn't know exactly how powerful the witch was, so her guess was as good as the kittens who hadn't paid any attention in the last day or so. She heard a soft chanting in the next room, so she traced it to its origin. The witch whispered words to herself and put ingredients into a smoking pot. She laughed hysterically and calmed down instantly. Alice pressed the gun against the back of the woman's head. "Move and I'll shoot."

"Go ahead. Shoot me," she agreed. There wasn't a bit of fright in her voice and Alice couldn't detect if she really wanted to die or not.

Alice's blue eyes wandered around the room to find it empty. All that was in there was a few blankets and whatever concoction the woman was making. "Where's the book?"

"What book?"

Alice couldn't see her face, but she did know she was smiling. She pressed the gun against her skull harder, "You know exactly which book I'm talking about."

The dark haired woman simply laughed, "Your friends are better off as kittens. They're not a danger to the world anymore. If anything, it's karma."

"Would you like to see some karma in action?" Alice threatened. She grit her teeth as the words flew out of her mouth, not even on command. Her muscles tightened up and her body shot some adrenaline into her system.

The witch turned around, bending Alice's arm to the side so she'd drop the gun. Her attempt failed. Alice kept her grip on the pistol and hit the witch with the bottom of her left elbow. _Where is he?_ Alice thought as she kicked the witch in the stomach. The woman started chanting a spell and Alice quickly tied the woman's scarf in her mouth and around her head so she couldn't get the words out. They tumbled around for a bit, with Alice wrapping her legs around the woman and latched onto her like a spider monkey to a tree. She couldn't let her get the rest of the spell out. Who knows what she'd do.

Sam rushed into the room and Alice poured the potion onto the witch. The woman screamed in sheer pain as the potion boiled against her skin. Sam took his queue and said the spell. She struggled against Alice's grip the whole time, trying to rip herself away from her jail cell, but it didn't work. When he finished the incantation, the witch's skin turned to blue and then back to its regular color again. Alice kept her hold, but realized that the witch was weaker than what she had been. "Now, where's the book?"

The witch spit out the scarf. "I burned it."

"Damn it…" Sam brushed back his hair with his hands in frustration, nearly pulling it out. He sighed loudly.

Alice bent the woman's arm back. "You're going to change our friends back into their regular human form. Capiche?" When the lady stayed silent, she bent her arm even farther back. She yelped in agonizing pain, and Alice almost enjoyed it. "Got it?"

"Or what?"

Sam's jaw locked in place and fixated his gaze on her. "I'll kill you," he aimed his gun at her head. Alice backed away to block the only other exit in the room.

The lady laughed evilly, "Then you'll never turn them back. What good does that do?"

Alice turned on the safety on her pistol to make it sound like she was getting ready to fire. Something in Alice seemed to take over, some dark essence that wanted the witch to make a move so she could kill her. "We know where your son is. That's why you killed those people, isn't it? You were protecting him." The woman straightened her posture as she tensed up. "It'd be a shame to kill him after all of your effort to keep him safe."

The witch shook for a second and threatened, "If you touch a hair on his head, I will come back to haunt you." She hesitated before saying the spell, turning the three kittens back into their human forms.

Angel got behind Sam as a reflex to cover herself from everyone's vision. Alice's eyes widened as she realized all three of them were naked. Her eyes wandered over to Castiel and she couldn't help herself but to admire his body. Her will power wasn't strong enough to overpower the need to look at him. Alice's heart beat faster and her mind raced with scenarios that made her whole body tingle. Dean saw that the witch was looking at him. He smirked, showing off some of his white teeth, and opened his arms, revealing himself proudly. Sam took off his jacket and gave it to Angel without turning around. He didn't want to look at her and make everything awkward for everyone else. Angel zipped up the jacket and noticed it was twice her size, making it big around her body long enough to cover everything.

The witch tore her gaze off of him and made a move to attack Alice. Sam fired his weapon before she could sock her in the face, and her body fell to the floor. The expression on his face was straight and didn't reveal anything. The look in his eyes didn't hold any remorse at all and his nose twitched slightly. Alice glimpsed at him with wide blue eyes and her mouth hung agape. "She was going to kill you. I had to," Sam declared in a monotone voice.

Angel's eyes flickered over to Dean and Cas and she shielded her eyes. Dean was still wide open. "Really dude?"

"You should enjoy the view. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," he stated and walked over to grab a blanket. He threw Cas a blanket before he wrapped one around himself.

Angel stretched her arms out and cracked her neck. She sighed in content, "You don't know how good this actually feels!"

"I don't know about you, but when we get back to the motel, I'm leaving. I need to go out to a bar and appreciate having my body back," Dean winked at Angel. She scoffed and looked back at Sammy.

Cas waved his hand in front of Alice's face, "Alice?" When she didn't respond, he kissed her on the lips gently. She immediately snapped to attention and pulled him in for a long kiss.

Angel smiled sweetly, feeling especially joyful for Alice in her new love life. Who better to take care of her sister than an angel? Dean tensed up and narrowed his eyes at them. "Really? Don't we have enough lovey-dovey moments with these two old fogies?" He pointed at Angel and Sam.

"Old fogies? He's your younger brother. I'm also pretty sure I'm a year younger than you are," Angel pointed out.

Sam wrapped his arm around Angel and pulled her close, "Yeah, so technically you're older than us. Don't be a jerk."

"Well, don't be a bitch and I won't," Dean shot back.

Angel noticed he was getting angry for some unknown reason. They were just joking around and he started it. Maybe there was something bothering him that he hadn't told anyone. She was sure Sam would have told her if anything was wrong with him. She knew what he was going through most of the time. She was the female version of him, give or take some qualities. Dean walked outside to the Impala and started it up. Everyone followed suit and got into the car. Alice was in the middle of Dean and Cas while Angel was next to Sam in the back. After a few minutes of awkward silence and giggles, the song "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred came on the radio. Dean chuckled to himself manically and started to sing along. As he sang with his deep voice, he jokingly started stripping himself of his blanket, the only article of clothing that covered him.

Alice freaked out and yelled, "Noooooooo!" Her fingers frantically jabbed at the buttons to change the station.

"Hey!" He yelled and changed the station back. "House rules: driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole."

Alice shrugged and pursed her lips. "Well, sorry, you were the one being the stripper here. You ruined it."

Dean laughed deeply to where he shook in his seat. Everyone else joined his laughing spree because of how much he was laughing and it all cycled from there. Soon enough, Dean pulled into a Fatburger drive-thru.

"What are you doing? We're practically naked!" Angel yelled at him.

He turned to her and scowled, "I'm hungry." Angel freaked out and nearly smacked the back of his head, but he watched her intently. "We just got our bodies back. I'm getting us some food. You better enjoy it, I don't do this often." Dean ordered the food for the whole group and squirmed around in his seat uncomfortably. The man at the window handing Dean the food became wide eyed as he saw the group. Three of them were half naked and the other two were fully clothed. The man's mouth hung open as his eyes turned to Angel. Sam gave him a dirty look and told Dean to take the food and drive away. Dean followed his order.


	11. Chapter 11

The quiet room carried a thick tension that Alice couldn't cut with her sharpest knife. She couldn't believe what her sister had just said to her. Angel's words echoed through her head. _I think it's time to sell the house._ Alice's veins ran cold and her brain had to restart to make sure this was actually happening, that this wasn't a twisted dream. "Sell the house? The house we grew up in? No way."

"We don't use it," Angel crossed her arms and stared into her sister's fiery eyes. "We pay for it with counterfeit money. We should let another happy family use it." The words barely made it out of Angel's mouth without her voice cracking.

Alice looked at her sister as if she were insane. Her heartbeat rang in her ears as her blood pumped through her body faster. "That's _our_ house. Dad wouldn't have wanted us to sell it. Stop being so selfish and think about how I'd feel."

Angel straightened up and her jaw tightened. "How you feel? What about how I'd feel? I've given up everything for you. I've always looked out for you. When has it been all about me? It's been all about you!"

Sam and Dean walked in and the wave of tension hit them. Alice didn't notice them and kept arguing. "I didn't ask you to give everything up for me! I could easily take care of myself. I don't need you," Alice grit her teeth and exhaled heavily. "_You_ needed _me_. _I'm_ the one who protected you. _I'm_ the one who kept you altogether. _I'm_ the one who sacrificed everything, so don't go twisting the truth to make yourself look like the hero in this story. Because you are not."

Dean rushed to Angel's side and raised his hands slightly, "Calm down. You both need each other, okay? End of story."

"That's not true," Sam added. He made his way over to stand by Alice. "Alice can take care of herself. She is strong enough to defend herself. She doesn't need a bodyguard following her around like a lost puppy."

Alice nodded and leaned against the wall. "See, Sam's the only one who gets me around here, and he's your boyfriend. How does it feel to be completely alone from everyone you hold so dear?"

Dean quickly butted in, "She has me. I'm like her older brother. I know how she feels and what she's going through. She's done her best for you, Alice. Given up hours of her life and opportunities she could have had for you and your family. Don't you dare say she hasn't."

Angel clenched her hand into a fist and forced herself to stay put. "I've given up my life for you and would physically in a heartbeat." Her heart slowed and ached at the answer to the next question. "Would you do that for me?"

Alice hesitated and thought for a moment. All that could be heard in the room was her heavy breathing. Sam gave Angel a puppy dog look, but then saw Dean, and returned to glaring. Alice answered, "I would, but I would regret it." The sound of Angel's heart breaking could be heard from a mile away. She nearly collapsed from the pain that had struck her heart. Angel's eyes darkened and it seemed like the life in her got sucked out. Alice continued, "Mom and Dad would want us to stay alive and protect people, but you can't do that on your own. You're too dependent on me."

Sam turned to Dean and says, "You know what life she could've had instead of becoming a hunter? A great one. One that she could be proud of. She could have been anything she wanted. A teacher, a doctor, a _lawyer_. No. Angel needed her sister, so Alice didn't do it. She didn't become something great like she had always aspired to be."

Angel knit her eyebrows together. "What about me?" She pointed at herself and moved a step towards them, "My one job is to protect her. Do you think I had any aspirations? I did. But I left them to protect my little sister like I was told."

"I did all of that for you and you know for a fact that I wanted a little brother more than anything in the world. I didn't anticipate our mom dying. I didn't expect our dad to go crazy." Dean rubbed the stubble on his chin as he contained his despair. "I didn't want this life. I was forced into it."

Alice yelled out in anger. "You could've left at any time once you came of age! But no. You had to follow orders. Then we," she pointed at herself and Sam, "got sucked back into it." She turned to Angel and stated, "Getting back together and fighting that war is what got our parents killed in the first place. If you hadn't recruited me, then our parents wouldn't have fought. They'd be alive right now."

Angel pinched the bridge of her nose and her dull blue eyes gazed at her little sister. "You can blame me for everything you want. It doesn't make a difference who's to blame. What happened, happened and we can't change it."

Silence filled the room for a few short seconds until Sam whispered out loud, "Maybe we should go back to our old lives."

Dean cocked his head slightly and gazed in confusion at his brother. "What? We separate again? What if something big happens? Then we'll die without backup."

Alice nodded, "Maybe that's the way it's gotta be."

Angel and Dean's eyes began to water simultaneously at the thought and their hearts broke in half. The jagged heart shape crumbled into pieces and the sounds of breaking glass was almost audible. Dean attempted to grab Angel's arm and said, "Let's get out of here."

Angel jerked her arm away and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Dean took one last look at his brother and Alice before running after Angel as she stomped away.

Alice adjusted herself and calmed down. "You know, I'm in the mood for a run. Let's go for a run." She grabbed Sam by the arm and marched out of the room. They jogged for the start and then proceeded to run another few miles. Alice could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage and her blood pumping, screaming for rest, but she didn't want to. It was so great just venting and running her emotions off. Alice enjoyed it more than she should. She lost her focus when Sam spoke.

"Maybe we were too harsh on them."

Alice quickly remarked, "No, we said what needed to be said. They said all of that. We don't need them and they don't need us."

"That's not true and you know that," he replied out of breath.

Alice screamed out in anger, "We can split apart. We don't need them. They're the ones that wrecked our lives and you're here defending him? What's wrong with you?" She sped up and ran faster. Her feet were pounding against the pavement and her breathing was staggered.

"Alice, slow down!" Sam urged her. He sprinted as quickly as he could, but he still failed.

Alice didn't bother to listen to him. He was siding with her sister, the one who was wrong, the one who tore apart her peaceful life! Angel was the one who yanked her back into this life of hunting. It wasn't her choice. After their parents died, she didn't have a choice. It was hunt or be hunted. Alice was on a lot of hit lists, so even if she went back to her normal life, she had the possibility of putting her future family in danger. This was all Angel's fault. Why would she let her force her back into this way of life? She could have easily said no and went on. Angel was the one taking orders, not Alice. Alice didn't want any part of it. Her heartbeat skyrocketed and her body temperature was rising a little too fast to her liking. Her muscles were tensing up and all Alice could think about was crawling into a ball. She felt like she was in a tight space and the walls were inching closer by the second, enclosing her in her room of death, even though she was in an open area on a street. She collapsed onto the street as thoughts scratched at the back of her head, tormenting her muscles into giving up. _You've only let your sister down again. Telling her that you should split up or that you'd regret dying for her? Way to go, dumbass. Now she won't even want to be with you anymore. How could anyone trust such a monster? _Alice clutched her chest and tried to make the thoughts go away. She was hyperventilating as if she couldn't get air into her lungs correctly. _I told my sister that I didn't need her. That I didn't care what happened to her. That I would regret giving my life for her. If she told that to me, I'd be broken. She only followed orders. It's who she is. All she's doing is protecting me with her own life. Why should I count that as a terrible thing? Most people would kill for that. _Tears clouded her vision and fell like rain down her cheeks. Her nose began to get stuffy and she sniffled. _I told my older sister that I didn't want her. That I didn't want her in my life. _Her mind raced with thoughts of the possible future she would have if she didn't make up with her sister. She'd be alone with a small family of her own in a small town where no supernatural would know where she was. Angel would be off kicking some ass and taking names on her own or with Dean. She'd probably die within the first year or two because of some simple supernatural being. Alice would have to live with the small guilt she would feel because she left her sister alone and let her down. She had always vowed to have her sister's back, but to what extent? Risking her private life? Risking any happiness she could ever have with a normal life? A life where she didn't have to lie constantly about who she was or what she does for a living. She has Cas now, but if she leaves Angel and Dean, will he stay with them? Will he even care for her anymore? Will he leave with her? She hadn't thought of that before. She was only thinking of herself here. How could she do that to her family and her friends?

Sam kneeled next to her and cleared the hair out of her face. "Alice, are you alright?"

Alice couldn't take it and cried as she hugged him close, "I have to apologize. I have to say sorry to my sister." She repeated it over fifteen times before he got her onto her feet. She was hysterical and couldn't shake it off. It was the only time in her life that she felt vulnerable to her core.

Sam didn't cave in as easily, but he knew how she felt and why. He needed his brother too. It didn't matter what arguments they had. They were family. Sometimes, that was enough to solve matters. It was them two against the world. Without Dean, Sam would live a simple, yet lovely life. It wouldn't be the same. He couldn't perceive the world as he had before with such innocence. Sam knew what was out there. Even if both of them separated, they were bound to find each other once again on a case. They'd both continue to hunt because that's the only lifestyle they've truly had that's worked out for them in the long run. They had become ghosts to everyone they knew and loved, by which whoever was still alive. No one truly knew Sam and Dean Winchester outside of their friendship circle. They were homicidal maniacs who were taken out by a single cop in a small town. They mass murdered people in different cities. All they could do now was hide behind the fake names and badges they created, forever being overshadowed by everything they once knew and had to become. Without Dean, Sam wouldn't have made it this far. He would have died or turned dark side. That would have only been what yellow eyes and Lucifer wanted. Dean always had his back, which Sam should be thankful for. He held Alice in his arms, calming her down, and thought to himself for a moment. _By saying we should split up, did that mean Angel and I should break up?_ He shut his eyes tightly and held his jaw in place. _Is that partly why she was so broken? Did I pile that information on top of the crap that Alice gave her straight up? _Not only did he have to apologize to Dean, but he would have to apologize to Angel. After rethinking everything Sam and Alice said, he agreed that it was necessary to save the relationships.


	12. Chapter 12

Dean held up a glass full of alcohol and said in a soft voice, "To us, the coolest bad asses on the freakin' planet."

"Cheers," Angel stated quietly and downed the whole glass.

Dean put his glass down and looked at her with a worried look. "In all of my days, I ain't seen a woman down a whole glass like that before."

Angel cringed from the sting and cleared her throat. She motioned the barkeep to get her another drink and turned her attention to Dean, who was waiting patiently for her to respond. "Yeah, well it hasn't been the best day ever. My sister basically said she didn't want me there and wouldn't care if I died."

His jade green eyes glimpsed down at the floor for a second before flickering back to Angel's eyes. "Look, that's been on her mind for a while. They ain't like us. We shoot first, think later. They're the opposite. Everything she said is what she's bottled up inside."

"And Sammy thinks the same way about you."

He took another sip of his drink and finished it off. "Well, that doesn't matter to me right now. That's for future me to figure out and be concerned with." He ordered another drink and looked around the bar. It was full of life. People were drinking, dancing, singing, or talking loudly. The country music rang in their ears and the smoke from cigarettes burned the inside of their noses. The old pool table had a red velvet top that was torn and dirty in a few places. The short pool sticks were adjusted from getting shorter or broken every year from wear and tear. The freshly painted walls were tacky against the creaky floor planks that needed to be refurbished. He inhaled and smiled sweetly, "Ah, the smell of home."

"I think we need to make a new definition of home for you," Angel swished her drink around the glass and set it down.

He looked at her adoringly and raised an eyebrow. "What, are we going to buy a house? Just me and you?"

Angel's bright blue eyes darkened and her stomachs did back flips. She tightened her grip on the glass and her lip quivered. "Does that mean Sammy wants to break up with me? If he agreed we should split up?"

Dean hesitated before he answered, "I'm sure he wants to stay with you. You're a great person."

"Aw, how sweet, you actually gave me a nice compliment. Are you drunk?"

He chuckled deeply and smiled genuinely. He drank what was left in his cup and slammed it down on the countertop. "Gettin' there."

"You really wanna settle down somewhere? In an actual home?" Angel finally turned to him and inhaled a little bit of the smoky air. He was right. A bar was kind of their second home.

He played with his hands for a second in a nervous manner and recomposed himself. "Yeah. I want to settle down somewhere. Somewhere where we can continue hunting but also live our lives. I haven't done that in so long…"

Angel put a hand on his shoulder and nodded. "I have my parents' house we can stay at. I guess I was wrong for wanting to sell it." She sighed sadly and stated, "I need to apologize to my sister."

"You should let her cool off more. She might not be ready to talk."

Angel put some money down on the counter, "Next round's on me then."

Sam typed with stress on his laptop as he searched up a new job. Sweat had formed on his forehead and he fidgeted in his seat. His eyes were focused on the screen and he tapped his foot against the flooring. Alice paced the room, taking in deep breaths and drinking the water she had in her bottle. Her shaking hands nearly dropped the bottle every time, but she clasped onto it tight enough to where it wouldn't slip. Her knees felt weak and she brushed her red hair out of her face. "They'll be here soon, don't worry," Sam said in a calm tone. On the inside, he was freaking out. They could've gone insane and slaughtered innocent supernatural beings or something worse. With how angry and upset they were, anything could have happened. He was expecting the worst.

Dean stumbled into the room and closed the door behind him. He saw Sam at the little table and looked away to see Alice running out of the room. He sat down on his bed and removed his shoes before jumping into bed.

"Dean…"

Dean cut him off, "I get what you're going…going to say. 'Dean, I don't want to hunt with you anymore.'" He burped and cracked his neck before finishing, "I don't wanna listen to that right now, Sammy."

Sam peered at his brother with his wide hazel eyes. He closed his laptop and turned fully towards him. He propped his elbows on his knees and held up his head with his hands. "Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean turned over to look at him and questioned, "But?"

"There is no but. I'm staying with you. I had time to think it out and us against the world is how I want it to be. Now you can't get rid of me."

"Well, Sammy, with your point of view, I think you're stuck with me." Dean sighed and Sam could smell his breath from across the small space between them. "I ruined your precious life. Why would you want to stay?"

Sam pondered for a moment and closed his eyes. "I don't have anything to go back to." His heart ached for his old life and his hands shook. He rubbed his temples to calm himself before adding, "That interview is long gone. The world thinks I'm a deceased murderer. I don't want to start new again. I have Angel."

"You hurt Angel," Dean pointed out. His head was aching and the world was spinning. He just wanted to sleep.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't even think of how the argument would impact our relationship." Sam glimpsed at the door and rubbed his eyes. "How bad did I hurt her?"

Dean mumbled, "She was on the verge of tears dude."

"Get your rest. I'll see you in the morning." Sam stood up as Dean adjusted himself on his pillow. He needed to fix things with Angel. He couldn't stand the thought of losing a girl he loved-

Loved? Sam was confused about that. Did he really love her? How could he love again after Jess? Jess…She ended up dead. So would Angel if he wasn't careful. Is he ready for that kind of commitment? Is he ready for the impending heartbreak he was cursed to have? Losing her would take a huge toll on him. A thought popped in the back of his head and he agreed to do it. It was the most logical and safe for both of them. She would stay alive because of this plan.

Alice ran into their motel room and spotted Angel splashing cold water on her face. Angel saw Alice through the mirror and turned around. Her skin was pale white and her eyes were bloodshot from some crying. "What, you came back to yell at me some more? Blame me for our parents' deaths? Say that I should've died in that war because it would have saved you a lot of trouble?"

Alice's heart tore itself in half. Hearing these things come out of her beloved sister's mouth felt more real than when she said it herself. She could hear the pain in her tone and how much it really affected her. Alice stumbled over her thoughts for a second before coming up with a real sentence. "No. Angel, you're my sister. I love you."

"So, you said all those nasty things to me because you love me?" Angel turned around and took a few steps toward her. Her eyes were a dark blue and cold like when she was getting yelled at earlier. "I think we have two different definitions of love."

Alice shook her head, "No. I'm staying because I love you. I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it."

"There's another lie. You meant every word. You blamed me for everything. That's something you can never take back and say that you 'didn't mean it'," Angel stated coldly. She folded her arms and looked away.

She took a step towards her sister and opened her arms. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Angel, I swear. I just…had a few things on my mind. I'm sure you've had things bottled inside of you too, but you won't say it."

"Of course I won't say it. I keep it bottled inside. That's what I've been taught to do. If I say it, it will wreck relationships. That is not something I want. My thoughts ain't anywhere near how hurtful yours were."

Alice hugged her sister forcefully. "I'm sorry. I'm staying with you. We're going to hunt until the end of time."

Angel gave in a few seconds later after a long sigh of remorse and wrapped her arms around her little sister. "We're not selling the house."

"We're not?" She asked in excitement. Something lit up inside of her and she nearly cried out in joy. Alice never wanted to leave the house in the first place, but she had to get away from the hunter lifestyle for a little while. Then, she got sucked back in, their parents died, and they left.

Angel brushed her sister's bright, curly hair with her hand. "I thought about it with Dean and he said he wants to settle down somewhere but still hunt. I said I know the perfect place. It's almost paid off, so soon all we'll have to pay for is utilities. It makes things simpler."

Alice smiled and backed away, "Thank you." Her blue eyes met her sister's duplicate ones and remembered why she joined her in the first place. They were sisters. Blood. Family. Nothing on this green earth could ever change that. She wouldn't let something murder her without being there for backup. Alice didn't want to let Angel down. That was the worst thing she could ever think of. No matter how much she hated the hunter lifestyle, she loved it because they helped people, protected each other, and eventually will save the world. "You look like you need sleep."

"My head is pounding." Angel removed her black leather jacket and set it on the chair.

Alice turned away, "I'm going to call Cas. I won't bother you."

"You never bother me," Angel admitted. "I love you."

"Love you too."

When Alice left, Angel took off her necklace. It used to be their mothers favorite necklace, which was adorned in jade gems and a silver chain. Sam rushed into the room, spun Angel around, and kissed her. She was surprised by his actions and almost pushed him away. Then she remembered she was panicking about losing him earlier. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with as much energy as he was putting in. He pushed her against the wall; he backed away and put both arms on either side of her. He tilted her chin up to make Angel's eyes meet his love-filled gaze and leaned forward the tiniest bit to make a huge impact on her heartbeat. Sam was so close to her that she could feel his hot breath on her face and purred, "Do you have _any_ idea what I want to do to you?"

Angel smirked and whispered, "Is this your way of saying sorry?"

Sam kissed her neck softly, which made Angel's whole body tingle in enjoyment. "Do you not like it?"

She exhaled softly and closed her eyes for a second, "This is my favorite way of saying sorry."

He chuckled against her neck, which made Angel giggle from how it tickled her skin. He bit her neck gently and made her back arch against his touch. He pulled her closer and ran his hands down her body. Sam kept going and applauded himself in his mind that he made up with Angel so fast. He was just afraid of how long until it would all go wrong.


	13. Chapter 13

Sam Winchester parked Angel's Camaro outside of the police station. Angel felt a hand grab hers slightly. "Are you doing alright?"

Angel had been staring out of the window the whole time. She hadn't slept a lot in a couple days and she felt exhausted. So many things were on her mind, like how to confront Dean on his feelings or what terrible disaster would happen next. She constantly thought about the pressure that was on her shoulders to keep her sister safe. That wasn't even the problem anymore. Now she had Sam that depended on her to help watch his back and Dean, who was like her older overprotective, sassy brother. Castiel could handle himself if he really wanted to. There was a thought constantly nagging at her brain that something was going to go wrong soon, something they weren't completely ready for. That's what scared her the most. When Sam spoke to her, he pulled her out of her thoughts. Her voice ended up being raspier than she had hoped, "Yeah, of course…"

Sam knit his eyebrows together and looked at her in concern. "You need to start getting more sleep."

She didn't think it was that noticeable. Maybe there were bags under her eyes and she just didn't realize it. Her eyes wandered off to focus on the nature outside the car. The trees were still in the process of losing their leaves and everything was getting colder. The cloudy November sky caged the sun behind it, keeping the temperature outside below fifty degrees. Angel remembered Sam was waiting for a reply, so she declared, "I have this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach…Something is going to happen soon, but I don't know what."

"Well, if you can't sleep, wake me up. I'll keep you company and maybe we can figure out what it means together," he offered with a soft smile. She nodded and both of them got out of the car. "You have your badge, right?" It was then when Angel could admire Sam in his grey suit and tie.

She fumbled in with her blue suit pocket and pulled out her badge. "Got it." Angel brushed her hands through her wavy brown hair and smiled slightly as Sam opened the front door for her. She had never had a man do simple things like this for her before, so it was nice for a change. She walked in front of him; she straightened up when she felt his hand on her back.

When they got to the front desk, Sam requested to see the medical examiner. The lady raised an eyebrow, checked both of them out, and asked to see their ID. They complied and showed her their badges. She nodded and told them where to go. Sam lead the way there and asked a question immediately upon arrival. "Excuse me, Dr. Morey, may we ask you some questions?" Both revealed their badges and Dr. Morey nodded.

"What does the FBI want with a case like this?"

Angel made eye contact with him. His drained green eyes stared right back at her and he took his gloves off. He had been digging into another patient, probably trying to find a cause of death. His pale skin was almost as white as his hair and his lab coat; he was about a couple inches taller than her, which wasn't much. "It was just on our radar and our boss sent us down here to solve it. They don't want the case becoming too known. It doesn't exactly help the town's image with five murders behind town hall and all," she stated.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Agent Fisher."

Sam exhaled quietly and continued to question him. "Do any of the deceased have any connection?"

Dr. Morey shook his head. "It's a pretty decent sized town. Other than the fact that they're all around the same age, I don't see a connection."

Sam pointed to the body, "Do you know what caused these giant gashes in the skin?"

"No, Agent Hamill, but I did find it very interesting. I don't know anything that has claws as sharp as this that lives anywhere near here. It doesn't make sense. Anything close to this would be savaged wolves, but they would have to be double the normal size to take a man like this down," the medical examiner pointed to the markings left on the skin and chewed on the end of his pen.

"Do you know anything that could help us?" Angel interrogated. Sam elbowed her for being so blunt about it and shot her a look. She quickly returned it until the doctor started talking again.

"No, I don't have any information that could further your knowledge on the case. After examining five bodies, I can't really find anything. These people were mauled to death. Nothing links them together as far as my data has gathered."

"Thank you, Dr. Morey." Sam nearly pushed Angel out of the room and dragged her out of the building. "What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was what?" Her eyebrows raised, crinkling her forehead.

He dragged his hand down his face and his tone was calm. "You don't have to be so straight forward with everything."

"Well, he clearly didn't have anything useful for us."

He gave her a simple dreadful glare and got into the car. "You're just like my brother."

"Yeah, well that's a talent rather than a gift. I didn't choose this type of life, Sammy," Angel admitted quietly.

"You have a choice in everything, Angel. Maybe if you're nicer, people will open up to you more." He started the car and drove off.

She scoffed, "I haven't really had the time to have people open up to me. I've been on the run for half of my life."

He glimpsed over at her with his hazel eyes and sighed. "Maybe you're just grumpy when you're sleep deprived."

Angel chuckled to herself and found her attention drift back to the nature outside. "What do you think killed them?"

"I don't know, but we're sure as hell going to find out."

"So get this…" Sam began, "All five of the victims were part of the city council."

"That's interesting. Someone's killing off politicians. I want in," Dean cheered from the couch as he stuffed his face full of chips. He set his legs on the couch, blocking anyone else from sitting next to him.

"We're going undercover to a masquerade ball at city hall where they have food and yet you still have the audacity to eat a bag of chips while in your tuxedo," Sam shook his head in dismay.

"Yeah, so what?" Dean asked with his mouth full. Some crumbs fell onto his red tie, but he didn't seem to care.

Angel walked into the room in her navy blue Victorian dress with golden lace. Her hair was half up in a ponytail, letting her wavy brown hair cascade past her shoulders. She tapped him on the head, "Close your mouth."

"Jealous of the food?" He questioned sarcastically.

She raised her hands up and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I am totally jealous of that food being in your mouth right now. Oh God, whatever shall I do?"

Sam chuckled at the scene and Dean glared at him. Sam spoke up, "You know how sassy she is. You should've expected it."

Angel threw an earpiece at Dean and handed one to Sam. "This will help us communicate. Ever use one of these before?"

Dean inspected it and exclaimed, "This is exactly the ones the FBI use! Give or take the white curly cord."

"How'd you get one of these?" Sam asked curiously as he inspected it.

Angel snorted, "Alice can make anything, remember?"

Sam nodded after processing the information again. "Where are Cas and Alice anyway?"

"They're getting ready. We're leaving now. Arriving together might put us on the killer's radar," she answered simply. She threw the keys to the Impala at Dean and he walked outside. Sam stood up and adjusted his suit. Angel smiled and walked over to him. She adjusted his navy blue tie. "You look really great in a suit."

He smirked and watched her as she smoothed out his suit jacket. "It's not like you haven't seen me in a suit before."

Her blue eyes met his hazel ones and her lips tightened into a line, "Well you still look great."

"And you look beautiful." Sam pulled her close by her waist and thought for a moment. He felt so lucky to have a girl like Angel by his side. She's lasted so long. Most people he has a crush on dies the next week or so because of something terrible. He could actually be happy to a certain extent. That was the best his life could get, right? So far, he hasn't had much happiness. Killing supernatural creatures with Dean and going through so many arguments repeatedly piled up and wouldn't stop. If he weighed that pile with his joy, his happiness would amount to nothing. Sam kissed Angel's sweet lips and made it long and meaningful.

Maybe it would last.

Alice came out from the bathroom and Castiel did a double take when he saw her. "Wow, you look gorgeous," He whispered breathlessly. His blazingly blue eyes checked her out longingly.

She smiled largely, revealing her white teeth. "Why, thank you. You look dashing yourself."

A grin played on his lips as he turned his eyes to the ground. "Why do I have to wear this again?"

Alice brushed his hair up with her hands a little bit, "Because you have to look elegant for the occasion."

Cas huffed, "I see the concept, but this outfit is uncomfortable and itchy. I want to go into my own suit again. To suit up."

"I see you have been doing your modern culture homework." Alice adjusted his tie.

"Yes, I have indeed. But what I don't get is, why didn't Ted be with Robin in the very beginning?" Cas cocked his head and his eyes gazed into hers.

Alice sighed, "You know, Cas, I've heard that things work out the way they're supposed to. But that's a discussion for another day." She held his arm and walked out of the motel room door.


	14. Chapter 14

Alice twirled around in her short sleeved, white dress was adorned in black lacing as she danced with Castiel, who was wearing a black suit and tie. Her mind bugged her with complicated thoughts as she tried to wade through it to think of a possible killer. "Maybe it's a werewolf?" She squinted and shook her head. "That wouldn't make sense. A witch killing them after blackmail?" Her eyes wandered a bit at the whole scene. Red curtains hung from the ceiling and windows, which fell against the freshly painted white walls. Her black heels clicked against the white mosaic tile, which was newly put into the ballroom. People were dancing, talking, eating, drinking, and resting all over the room. The masquerade ball intended to raise money for the new charity that was going on in town. Alice's eyes met Cas' blue ones and cringed. "Could it be something I haven't faced before? Evil clown? Terrifying doll? Freddy Krueger?"

Cas cocked his head at the last reference and sighed. "You think too much."

"What am I supposed to think about?" She questioned as she kept up pace with him. She had never seen him dance before, yet he was so talented at it. She had to try to keep up with him so she wouldn't trip.

He smiled softly, "You're supposed to be thinking about us. Thinking of dancing with me right now in the present."

Her heart swooned at the thought of it. "That's easy." She waited for a second, lost in her thoughts, before adding, "Where did you learn to be such a romantic?"

Cas stiffened and led her off of the dance floor. He leaned against the wall and admitted, "I took lessons from Dean to impress you."

"Impress me?" Alice asked. Her brain couldn't process so much love coming from one being. He was the sun in her sky because he shined brighter than anything she had ever known. Alice never saw herself in this position with someone so magnificent that she almost wanted to take him right then and there. She contained herself and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, "You've impressed me enough."

Castiel pulled her close and stated in a love-filled tone, "I will never stop trying to impress you. You're the one that I'll do anything for." Alice turned bright red and admired the view she had of him. Thoughts in her mind halted and her heart skipped a beat.

Sam looked around nervously and his posture stiffened, "I can't believe you convinced me to do this."

Angel laughed to herself. Sam thought her smile seemed to brighten up the room. "It's just dancing. It's all in good fun."

"I don't dance."

"You are now."

He snorted, "I don't know if I like your tone."

"Tone? What are you going to do about my sarcasm?" Angel cocked her head and waited for him to answer.

"I'm going to…"

Dean interrupted over the earpiece, "Barf. You guys are such a drag."

"You don't have to listen," Angel snapped at him.

"I can't help it. Cas and Alice are being mushy. You two are being mushy. I need to get another drink." The earpiece went silent for a second and Dean's breath was taken away, "Whoa. She's hot."

"I think you have the attention span of a goldfish," Sam rolled his eyes.

Dean chuckled deeply, "I like to think of it as a good thing." After a moment of silence, Dean started talking again, "The name's Tony. Can I buy you a drink?" Silence. "Because my name backwards says Y not?"

Sam nearly burst out into laughter and Angel paused to actually take in how poorly made that pick up line was. "Are you serious?" Sam asked.

"It worked," Dean rubbed it in.

Angel and Sam gave each other a look before heading to the back of city hall. They heard screaming and charged towards the door and outside. A woman was lying on the cold concrete with her stomach ripped open. Her screams died down and her expression stayed frozen in place. Her mouth was wide open from screaming; her black hair was messy and her brown eyes stared at them. Angel charged into the trees that were leading to the park in effort to catch the murderer. "Angel!" Sam called to her. Angel ran until she got into the park and halted. Nothing was in her sights. Sam caught up to her, "Did you see the culprit?" Angel froze in place. "What's wrong?" He turned to see what she was staring at.

A pair of red eyes looked right at them from the bushes across the park and into their souls. Their eye contact held until they saw another pair, and another pair of red eyes. They could hear a low growl erupting from the creatures.

Chills ran up Angel's spine as she whispered, "What are those things?"

Sam calmly took a step back. "I don't know. We need to tell the others. We're out of range. They can't hear us." He tugged at her arm and they slowly walked backwards towards city hall, keeping an eye on whatever was watching them from afar. "Guys, There's been another death," Sam stated dreadfully.

"How did we not know about this?" Castiel asked angrily.

Angel wince at his tone, "We didn't know anyone left through the back. Sam and I were heading out there and then we saw the body." Angel examined the body again before saying, "It's Martha Lee."

"Ready for some amazing acting skills?" Sam questioned out loud and took out his cell phone. Angel nodded and watched as he dialed 911. He waited patiently for the operator to pick up and breathed in slowly. "There's been a…a murder," Sam stuttered. His puppy dog face appeared and he bit his lip softly. "She's been mauled, I know it's a murder! Her stomach is ripped open…We're outside city hall where the other murders took place." Silence. Angel raised an eyebrow and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. "I don't know what happened. We came out here and she was already dead." His hazel eyes flickered over to meet Angel's and said into the phone, "Alright. Bye."

Angel applauded him sarcastically, "Way to go, Leonardo DiCaprio."

"Hey, at least I'd win an Oscar for my performance," Sam waved his hair around in the air and smiled at her. It was picture perfect, which surprised her.

"You're being very sassy today, you know that?"

He nodded, "It's a gift."

Cas pushed Dean outside and Dean looked back at him. Alice closed the door as she stood watch inside. If anyone of the party goers found out there was another murder, there'd be chaos and everyone would leave. Dean complained, "I was enjoying myself in there."

"Yeah, enjoying yourself too much. We're on a case," Cas shot back, not taking in Dean's playfulness.

"Someone's not in a good mood," Dean cringed and turned to Sam before he caught Castiel shooting him a death glare. "So, what happened to Ms. Gutsy over here?"

"We saw something out in the park. All we could see were red eyes staring right back at us. There were three of them," Angel answered after she crossed her arms over her chest.

Cas squinted his eyes and stepped closer to her. "Did you hear the growl? Was it low?"

Angel nodded and Dean and Cas' faces flushed. It seemed so quiet that both of them stopped breathing. The two men turned to each other to share a look before turning back to them. "What? What's wrong?" Sam asked nervously. His eyes flickered between the two men.

"I don't think you saw them before, Sam, but Dean and I faced those things in purgatory. They're called gorilla-wolves. Extremely fast creatures with unpredictable tactics." Cas gazed around to make sure none of the creatures were present. His hands started to shake at the memory of being in purgatory.

Dean stayed quiet until he gained the courage to push aside those memories. He seemed to be struggling with the thoughts and clenched his jaw. "I don't know how they got out of purgatory, but those things will not kill another person. Mark my words on that." He walked out into the night before any of them could stop him.

Castiel watched him until Dean rounded a corner. "Purgatory was not a good time for Dean. I adapted to it quickly, but he didn't. It was hard leaving him by himself, but I had to do it. He made a friend to watch his back. He didn't need me." Cas paused before adding, "He still doesn't."

Sam's lips tightened into a straight line. "He needs you Cas. He just doesn't show it."

Cas nodded slightly before glimpsing up at the stars. He then marched back inside to retrieve Alice and left. Sam and Angel shared a look before a policeman rounded the corner and interrogated them.

"I still don't understand why you have to be the decoy," Alice stated through the earpiece. She was sitting in the Camaro with Cas at the edge of the parking lot.

"I can easily use my powers to not get harmed if they attack." Angel put her frozen hands in her coat pockets. She could see her breath in the chilly air. _Hardly anyone goes out behind city hall except for the people that work there. It makes sense that only they would die. We saw the eyes in the park last night, so they must run off somewhere this way._ Angel thought and walked to the middle of the park to sit down on a bench. She admired the trees as they swayed silently in the cool breeze and all the animals were sleeping except for the crickets. "Dean?"

There was silence for a minute until Dean huffed, "What Angel?"

"I'm buying dinner tonight. We can go anywhere you want. It doesn't matter how expensive it is," she declared. A twig broke in the distance and she cocked her head in that direction. Angel listened carefully to the noises in the night.

"Why?"

"Because you deserve it for all you've done for us. You let my sister and I join your trio of badassery. I've never thanked you for it." Angel knew he was going to be stubborn. After all, she was almost like the female version of him. She could tell almost anything he was feeling or how he was going to react to certain things. The response was in their nature.

He snorted, "Badassery ain't a word, sweetheart."

"Neither is ain't, and you don't see me complaining," she shot back instantly. Dean just laughed at her remark, which was the first laugh she'd heard from him in a while. She experienced joy for actually making him laugh for once. It truly was an accomplishment.

She could hear Sam adjust in his seat. He was sitting in the Impala with his brother. He sighed, "So what's the plan here?"

"Don't die," Dean stated in a monotone voice.

Castiel chuckled to himself, "How many times has that worked out for you?"

A whole argument was about to break out, but Alice stepped in, "Guys, there's something growling in the distance."

"I hear it too," Angel stated. She got off of the bench and stood still. "It's getting closer." Her blue eyes caught sight of a pair of red eyes in the bushes across from her. She took a step forward without thinking straight and it leapt out right at her. She ghosted right through it, and took a stance. It was too dark to see exactly what the thing look-the gorilla wolf looked like, but she could see the outline of it. The creature was big and covered in black fur to camouflage itself in the night. It had two big arms in the front like a gorilla, but it moved at a fast pace like a wolf. The tail was long and slender, almost like a cat's tail, which is weird considering it's a gorilla wolf, not anything else. She faced the one in front of her, only to get knocked down by the creature behind her. Angel yelped on her way down; she flipped over and kicked the wolf quickly, sending it backwards. One creature took hold of her arms and dragged her into the trees. She screamed and almost waited to see where it would take her. Then she remembered the gorilla wolves have been slaughtering people left and right. She ghosted through the hands and ran back to the group. Angel took out her pistol and shot at the creatures that were surrounding her friends.

Castiel sliced the gorilla wolves with the angel blade in his hands. The blade was pure silver and could kill almost anything. He moved swiftly, aiming at the creatures and making sure not to get hit. He grunted with every hit he got and gave the dirtiest look when one of them ripped part of his tan trench coat. Dean dug the blade he had taken from purgatory into one of the wolves and he snarled back at it as it cried out in pain. The blade was made out of a mysterious bone and other materials the creator found in purgatory. It's jagged part was a shade of blue and bent at the end to cause a more deathly blow. His expression contained nothing but anger, fire in his eyes and his brows furrowed. It was a side that Angel hadn't seen before, and she never wanted to be on the receiving end of that.

Alice created blades and flung them at the gorilla wolves. It damaged them, but not enough. She repeated the process until she could think of something better. She turned around to stab one of them and screamed when the other grabbed her from behind and began to crush her ribs slowly. "Cas!"

Castiel whipped his head in her direction so fast, it almost seemed that his vessel's neck broke. "Alice…" He whispered under his breath and rushed to her rescue. He used his powers and ripped the wolf's arm off. Blood spewed everywhere, drenching both Cas and Alice in the red liquid. The creature screeched and the others noticed. They all turned to Cas and Alice and proceeded to jump at them. Angel dove for them, put her hands on their legs and used her powers to make them ghost through the creatures. Castiel shielded Alice until he realized what Angel did and he chopped off one of the wolves' heads when her powers faded.

Sam shot at the three remaining wolves with a shotgun, but none of them went down. These things were tough, which wasn't good. When he ran out of shells, he pulled out his knife and slashed some gorilla wolves up. One tackled him after clawing his arm and caused him to fall to the floor. Sam yelled at it and pushed against its body to keep it from biting him. The sharp teeth jutting from its gums aimed to bite Sam's neck to drain his blood and kill him, and Sam was about to lose. The gorilla wolf's arms were pounding against Sam's chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

Dean twirled around and kicked it off of him. "Angel, get Sam and Alice out of here, now!" He dug the knife into the wolf's heart, only to find out it still remained alive.

"I'm not going to leave you two here to die!" She yelled back and chopped a creature's leg off. It yelped in agony; she put it out of its misery in a few seconds.

Dean shot her a look and kicked one down. "There's two left, we'll be fine."

"No, Dean…"

He interrupted her, "Go!" His tone, filled with anger and venom, sounded like a father yelling at a child. He sounded overprotective and caring, with a touch of stern, that it made Angel follow his order.

Sam pushed back as she dragged him and Alice out of there. "I'm not leaving my brother."

Angel struggled against him and tried to keep him back. When none of it worked, she urged Alice to meet them at the car and got in front of Sam. She put her hands on his chest and gazed into his hurt eyes. "He told me to get you out of there. He needs to handle it on his own with Cas. He doesn't want you in danger."

"I could tell him the same thing and he'd still be by my side kicking some supernatural butt," He argued. He didn't want to hurt Angel, but he needed to get to his brother.

"Don't. You're hurt. Listen to me. Listen to what your brother said," she stated and caught up to her breathing. "Please."

Sam reluctantly walked backwards and to the car after his face went blank. He sat in the passenger seat of the impala until Angel came with the medical supplies to fix up his wounds.

Dean and Castiel stood back to back. The gorilla wolves were circling around them like vultures to their prey. "You got my back, Cas?" Dean remarked as he kept his eyes on one of the creatures.

"As long as I'm alive, Dean." Castiel went for the first blow, cutting the animal's hand off. Blood spewed everywhere, drenching everyone in the red plasma. Dean switched him positions and sliced the blade through the gorilla wolf's neck, pulling the knife up, and splitting his head into halves. Castiel got close enough to the last remaining wolf to incinerate it with his powers. It fell to the floor in ashes and Cas wiped his dirty hands on his trench coat. "I need to go find out how they escaped purgatory."

"Take care of yourself, Cas," Dean stated. Cas nodded and vanished after a whoosh sound whipped the air. Dean headed to the car in a satisfied mood, but something was eating him from the inside. He didn't want to remember what had happened in that dimension, not now, not ever. He pushed the memories away and put on a sour face. Dean's heart, as ice cold as it was, seemed darker and more desolate the farther he repelled those thoughts. It made itself a part of him, something he never liked in the first place. The experience of being in that place changed him for the worst; he didn't know exactly what to do anymore. How was he supposed to get rid of something that became a part of who he is today? That would be the most difficult thing to do. Wiping away the marker ink from the whiteboard, erasing the writing of pencil on paper, deleting files from a computer, spilling coffee down the sink, either way, it was all the same. There would always be an imprint there, a darker outline of what had once been there, and will never leave. Dean was afraid of this. The frightened feeling he got worried him.


	15. Chapter 15-Year 4

Angel sat on the couch with Sam as they watched a movie. His arm was wrapped around her and she nuzzled up against his chest. They seemed really interested in it until Sam started to wander off. She looked up at him, "Are you okay?"

His gaze was towards the window that had a dark view of the outside. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She got up and looked him in the eye. She brushed her long, wavy hair back before asking, "What's on your mind?"

Sam waited patiently and sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and a puppy dog look took over his facial features. "Just this movie. It's too romantic."

"Too romantic? I've never heard that one before. There's only a little bit of romance in this movie." He stayed silent and something donned on her. "You're missing Jess again, aren't you?"

"It's not just that. I'm missing my life before shit hit the fan."

Angel's heart just felt like it was stabbed with the sharpest stake. She stood up and broke on the inside. She put her hands on her hips and gazed out of the window. The moon was hiding behind the dark clouds and fog swept the land. It looked like a scene from an old zombie movie. "So, you're saying your life now isn't good enough? You're always constantly going to compare your life to what it was?"

"I just want to live a normal life. Every one I know dies. Every girl I like dies. I'm surprised you've made it this long," he said distressed.

"Saving people is what we do. The world is a better place because of us, Sammy."

"There's another thing. Only my brother calls me Sammy."

Angel spun around so quickly that she almost got whiplash. "Since when have you cared if I call you Sammy? It's been two years, Sam."

He clenched his jaw and leaned back on the couch. "Two years. Exactly. We've been dating for two years and maybe this is moving too fast for me."

"Being stuck in the past isn't the thing to do, Sam. It's called the present for a reason. Do you think I'm stuck in the past over my parents dying? That's clearly insane. I moved forward. I have my sister to look out for, and now I have you, Dean, and Castiel. I think you'd rather be in the past than here in the present with me."

Sam put his head in his hands. "I just miss her. I miss those times where I had a future. I miss those times where I could live a normal life."

Angel kept back the water works and felt her heart turn to stone, little by little. "We've already had this argument. If you don't want to be in a relationship with me, then say it. Don't say you miss your ex. We're in the now, not in the past. You have to be in this one hundred percent, not fifty percent like you are now." She began to walk out, but stopped. "I'm not going to sit around and have a girl in your past dictate our future." Angel walked out of the room and out of the motel parking lot. She wandered far off into a park to sit and think. The night was dark and mysterious, fog included. She got lost in her thoughts as she curled up onto the bench. _What is he really afraid of? Why, of all the times he could've done this, did he bring this up now?_ Her head was spinning and all she could think of was her heart putting up another wall to surround it. She needed the protection. Nothing was going to affect her again, not after her parents' deaths. Angel closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She drowned out the sounds of the night and sang a song in her head to calm her down. She had to go back soon and talk to Alice. Alice would be worried.

The last thing Angel heard was the sound of a soft whisper before everything went black.

Alice looked out her window. She drummed her fingers along the wall impatiently and she bit her lip. "How long has she been gone?"

"Not that long. She's been gone for thirty minutes," Sam replied quietly.

"What on Earth were you thinking?" She turned around and raised her eyebrows. Her mother-figure clawed its way out of her. "Did you not think before you spoke to my sister? Did you not hear the cruel things you said?"

"Look, I know it sounds bad, but-"

She cut him off quickly, "But what? You lead her on for two years, after you know her background and _everything_, and you still break her heart?" She brushed her fingers through her red hair and sighed. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"It's not like Angel is missing. She can handle herself," Dean interrupted.

Alice shot a glare at him before she returned to glaring at Sam. "I get that you miss your ex, Sam, I really do. It's been years. You need to move on."

Castiel agreed. "You all were sent to this planet to lead great lives, not be stuck in the past. Your mission here is valuable, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself."

Alice smiled at him before frowning at Sam. "I know my sister can handle herself, but if you manage to hurt her, I will beat the shit out of you."

Dean chuckled, "I think your sister will already have that covered."

Before Sam count interject, Angel opened the motel room door. Her wavy hair was in knots and she adjusted her black leather jacket. She saw all of them in the room and froze. Alice raised her eyebrow, "Where were you?"

"Walking," she answered.

Alice made a face. "You aren't mad anymore?"

Angel leaned against the door after she closed it. "Nope."

"You don't want Sam to apologize to you?" Dean questioned. Even he raised his eyebrows in confusion.

When Angel shook her head, Alice asked, "Are you okay?" Something wasn't right.

"Fine."

One word answers.

Castiel straightened up when he looked at Angel. Alice noticed his tension and whispered, "Christo."

Angel flinched and noticed her cover was blown. She cracked her neck before setting her eyes on Sam, grinning from ear-to-ear, and her eyes turned black. "Who's going to die first?"

Alice stood there, shocked. _How could she let a demon possess her? She's more aware than that, right?_ She thought to herself. Dean jumped over the table and kicked Angel into the wall. She got back up and punched him in the gut. Her fist came in contact with his jaw, sending him flying to the floor. Sam tried to hit her, but she quickly countered it and threw him into the wall. Alice kicked her sister, or what was possessing her, and made her hit the floor. She kicked her repeatedly until Angel used her powers, and Alice's foot collided with the wall. Alice cried out in pain and Angel twisted her ankle, knocking Alice down. Dean rolled around the floor with Angel, punching and kicking at will, but she still won. By this time, he was bloody and beaten to a pulp, but not giving up. Sam backed him up and she used her powers once again to avert their tag-team. They appeared confused for a second until Angel knocked them down, rendering them unconscious. Her breathing was heavy and her actions were quick and well thought out, like the Angel Alice knew. Castiel walked over to her and put his fingers on her forehead. Angel fell to the floor unconscious the next second.

Alice got up wearily and created some medicine that would stop the pain. She swallowed it whole without water and peered at Cas, who was standing over her sister. "What do you think happened?"

He replied in the deep voice that melted Alice's heart. "I don't know, but we're definitely going to find out."

She cleaned Dean's blood off of his face until he woke up. "What happened?"

"Cas took care of her," she replied softly. "You banged your head pretty hard."

"Yeah," he winced, "I can feel it." He got up and walked to the bathroom slowly.

Sam had woken up by then and sat on the bed, clutching his head. "What are we going to do with her?"

"We're going to get rid of that demon, aren't we?" Alice asked curiously.

"Of course, but we need to detain her somewhere, right?" Castiel questioned.

"There's an abandoned building not far from here. We can use that until we get that thing out of her," Dean called from the bathroom.

Alice didn't like where this was going. She was going to save her sister, that was a definite thing, but how scarred would she be? How would she have changed once she gains control? Would she have changed at all, or would she be the same Angel Alice loved with all her heart? These questions pained Alice and she focused on the main objective.

She had to save her sister.

Sam sat in the small room where the walls were a solid gray and the flooring was just a hunk of concrete. There was a small devils trap in the middle of the room. In the middle of that, Angel was chained to a chair and the floor. Something had to hold her down. Her sister said that Angel couldn't pass through lead, so that's exactly what the chains were made out of. The room was dark and desolate, something Sam had seen hundreds of times on hunts. He hadn't slept all day and his mind was on fire. His heart felt heavy and he looked at Angel with sad eyes. How could he let someone so close to him down? Why would he say those mean things to her all this time? Maybe it was because-

Angel stirred in her chair and lifted her head up. "Angel?" Sam raced over to her and knelt down beside her. Her blue eyes turned completely black. "Angel, I know you can hear me. Please, fight the demon. Take control of your body. I believe in you."

She began to laugh. "You wouldn't want to do that."

His eyebrows raised, "And why not?"

"I'm burning her soul. There's something about her that I like. The strength, maybe? I can burn her ass and send her directly to hell right now so when you send me back, I'll have a playmate."

With a blank expression, Sam couldn't read her face. He backed off and asked, "What do you want?"

She smirked, which felt all too weird. It was Angel smirking, which he loved so very much, but it was the demon controlling her. He had to focus. "I don't want anything," she said. "Just to torture all you hunters until you're nothing. That way, when the army rises, you won't have the strength to fight."

"What army?" Sam instantly got closer.

"There's someone out there who's strong and will raise an army to take out any hunters before releasing Lucifer from his cage in hell to wreak havoc on the world."

An army? That was so overused. Too bland for a cliché. "Who?"

"Why should I tell you?" She batted her eyes.

Sam looked her in the eye and declared, "You aren't getting out of here, so you might as well spill your guts before I actually do it."

"Oh, so you'd actually hurt Angel physically? You'd kill her?" She sang, "I doubt it. With what I'm doing to her, she'll just enjoy it."

"Don't hurt her. She hasn't done anything wrong."

Angel licked her teeth before talking. "What? You've already hurt her enough. Why, innocent old me wouldn't harm her as much as you have. I'm just messing with her."

"I keep referring to Jessica because I'm afraid to love again. Maybe if I referred to her, Angel would leave me. That way, I could save myself from the heartbreak of losing her when she died. I've lost so many people I love and I can't handle it. But when she walked away from me, it hurt me more than ever." Sam stopped and caught up with his train of thought. "I feel stupid for ever trying it. It was wrong of me to think that loving again was such a terrible idea. That it would only save me from the harm when I didn't see that it would hurt her too," Sam explained. He ran his hand down his face and kept back the water works. "Neil Gaiman once said that love is horrible. It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one person, no different from any other person, wanders into your life…You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes you as a hostage. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness…it hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I think love is horrible, but at the same time it is the most amazing thing on this planet. I didn't want to lose Angel in a horrible way and blame myself for the rest of my life. All I want now is for her to be happy, and if I have to be afraid, then I will. I'm so sorry Angel, I really am…"

Angel's eyes changed back to normal and she inhaled deeply. "Sam, I'm sorry."

The corners of Sam's mouth lowered and his eyes widened. "No, I'm sorry. You have nothing to apologize for."

Her eyes flickered back to black with one blink and she laughed. "Just kidding, that wasn't her. She keeps screaming in my head, but she can't gain control." She listened for a second. "What was that? He hurt you more than anything else? You don't know if you can trust him again?" She sighed and slyly smiled, "I guess she doesn't want your apologies."

He nearly punched her in the face, but he stopped immediately. He knew if he punched her, Angel would feel it too. Sam pointed at her and his jaw tightened. "When I eject you out of her body, you're going straight back to hell where you belong."

"It's sweet that you think you can do that," she replied.

Sam's hazel eyes darkened, "Or maybe I'll just kill you instead. I don't need to kill Angel in order to do that."

She snorted, "Good luck with that."

He got up close and personal in an instant. "Don't think for a second that you're taking her with you. She's going to stay alive after you're gone. If you even try to take her, I will do so many things to you that you are going to wish you were in hell."

"Sounds kinky," she remarked with a smile.

Sam's eyes burned with an intense fire. "You think I should be scared of you, but in reality, you need to be afraid of me. My brother and I are lethal weapons that everyone is frightened of. We are the very people that are in your nightmares at night. When I come back, you'll wish you never messed with the Winchesters."

"Don't flatter yourself too much, darling."

Sam's blood boiled and his heart raced faster. His lip twitched and his jaw clenched tighter. _This bitch thinks she's immune to everything. Oh, how very wrong she is._ He thought. He turned around and left the room.


	16. Chapter 16

Alice stepped into the room where Angel was being held. The demon immediately laughed when she walked in. "Here to get a taste, darling?"

Her brow furrowed and she replied, "Let my sister go."

"You know, I can read her mind. I can see every memory she's made. She thinks you're a drag and dead weight. She could've left you to die by those demons that were hunting you two and see your blood on the walls and your face smashed in."

Alice scoffed and rolled her eyes, "My sister would never want that to happen. You're just a lying prick and your ass should be in hell. My sister loves me."

There was a short period of silence until the demon chuckled. "Or, so you think."

Alice's face turned bright red with anger and she gave a death glare to the demon. She snapped her fingers and a carton of salt popped up out of nowhere. She shoved the salt down Angel's throat and threw the carton down when she was done. The demon choked and gasped for air as blood poured out of her throat from the burning salt against her skin. An evil smirk played on Alice's lips and her eyes darkened. "You don't know how much you're wrong."

"I'm not wrong…when I say…that your parents…were terrible people…" Angel choked. She spit all of the salt out, but blood was still erupting from her throat.

"You know nothing about my parents." Alice's heart hardened and put up another wall to protect it. Her tone was dead and filled with hatred. Her right hand curled up into a tight fist at her side.

"I'm the one that killed them."

Alice pulled Angel's hair back and she screamed. "I killed the one who murdered them."

"That's what you thought. But I was the second culprit. You should have seen their faces when they went down. Remember how bloody they were and willing to give up on life? Yeah. That was caused by me," she hissed at Alice.

Alice yanked her hair back more and put a knife up to her throat. Her muscles were on fire now and she was jumpy, willing to slit her throat at that second to make her stop talking. "You're lying."

"Do it, Alice." Angel pleaded. "Let the anger consume you. Let it take over."

Alice's eyes contained a fire in them that wouldn't burn out. She stared into Angel's black eyes and could only think of one thing. Death. She tightened her grip on the knife and made Angel's throat bleed a little. When she realized what she was doing, what she was doing to her sister, she put the knife away and her features softened. If she killed the demon, it would kill Angel too. That was something she couldn't handle. Angel was the only family she had. Of course she had the Winchesters and Cas, but Angel was there for everything. She was the only thing that held her up this far in life. To take that away and slaughter her sister was something she couldn't have the heart to do. Alice rushed out of the room, teary eyed, before anything else could be said.

Angel screamed in her mind and tried to take over her body again, but it was no use. The demon had a firm grip on controlling her. Her soul was being burned slowly and she could feel the fire that mimicked the depths of hell. She definitely had hope that the group would find a solution and keep her alive, but at the same time, she worried that it wouldn't work and they would have to kill her. What would happen then? Would she go to hell for everything she's done? Or would she go to heaven? She did see her mother in heaven, so maybe she made up for all of her sins. Castiel would know.

The door opened to the tiny room and she saw Dean and Castiel walk in, as if right on schedule with her thoughts. Dean wore a navy blue T-shirt and blue denim jeans. His blonde hair was spiked up and his green eyes appeared desolate. His expression clearly stated that he was impatient and ready to get this over with, but didn't know how. Castiel wore his usual tan trench coat with a suit underneath, accompanied by his blue tie. The facial expression he had on was straight lipped and focused.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to keep me company. Looks like hell really did you some good, Deano. Same with your brother Sammy," the demon declared as she checked him out.

"Shut up and start talking about this war," he replied with a growl.

"Or what, you'll torture me?"

He slightly cocked his head, squinted his eyes, and contemplated. "That sounds like a good idea right about now."

"So you're going to torture Angel's body while I burn her soul? That's dark, Dean, even for you." The demon flipped the hair out of her face to get a better look at them.

"You don't know how dark I can really get." He held back his anger and got closer to her. He had the eyes of a stone cold killer. "Now, about that war."

Her eyes watched his carefully. "Sam is going to be the leader of this war. He's going to kill everyone and make you watch. Then, when he's through with them, he'll kill you too in the worst way possible," she spat at him.

Dean tensed up. "No, that's not true. Sammy would never give in like that."

Angel wanted to tell Dean that what she said was true. She could hear the demon's thoughts. Sam was going to be the leader whether he liked it or not. That's what hurt her the most.

The demon turned to Cas. "Your father never loved his children. Why do you think he never helped you and left when you needed him the most?" She laughed, "He knew what was going to happen. The best thing to do is start over and wipe the slate clean. Make better soldiers, more loyal subjects, unlike you."

Castiel's eyes narrowed and he walked over to her slowly. His jaw clenched and if looks could kill, the demon would have been back in hell. He took out a bottle and squirted it on her. The holy water burned Angel's skin. "You're wrong. God loves all his children and he would never leave in a time of need. You can go rot in hell, you speck of nothing. No one would miss you; you aren't important. That's why you're in hell in the first place."

"Lucifer was God's favorite, and look where he ended up."

"My brother hated the humans. He fell from heaven because of his strong hatred. He couldn't be saved." Cas defended his brother, "He was the strongest person I knew. He was just misled by his hatred."

"Kind of like Dean's father," she remarked with a sly smile.

Dean pointed a finger at her and almost reached for his knife. "Don't you talk about my father like that."

"What? It's the truth," she stated with a shrug. "Your father should've left you in that fire and only saved Sam. You're nothing and shouldn't have even been born. Have you seen what you become, Dean? A lowlife hunter that drinks his sorrows away? That sleeps with women to make himself feel loved, because deep down, you know that you will never be loved again? At some point, you'll only become your father." Dean's ears turned bright red and he tightened his fists. His breathed in and out harder and contained his anger. Angel knew he was only staying quiet to get information, otherwise he would've snapped at her. The demon continued, "Sam was always the endgame like Azazel and Lucifer planned. Whether he likes it or not, the demon will possess him and raise the army to take out the hunters. Sam can't do anything about it because he isn't strong enough. The first death of the hunters will be Angel and that's when he is going to go cold and break because he lost the love of his life again."

Dean brought out his knife and almost stabbed her, until Cas stopped him. He saw that she was smiling. Cas said, "No, that's exactly what the demon wants. It'll kill Angel too."

Dean threw everything on the table to the floor, making the room a mess. He screamed, "This bitch is gonna die!" He left the room. Cas gave her a look and followed suit.

Sam, Dean, and Castiel walked into the room. Dean was pushing a silver cart with a big box and a sheet. The demon knew what was going to happen. She wasn't stupid. "We having a party, boys?"

Dean gave her a look. "Yeah, and the streamers are your insides."

"Sounds delightful." Sam stayed quiet in the back, watching his brother pull out all the tools he needed out of a box. She eyed him curiously, "What, too scared to watch up close?"

Sam shook his head and Cas asked, "Where do we start first?"

Dean took out the demon-killing knife made by the Kurds and soaked it in holy water. "She is going to tell us who the special demon is."

"You wouldn't," the demon tensed up. She didn't think that they would actually torture her. Angel attempted to gain control, screaming and kicking the demon, but nothing worked. She wanted the boys to torture it. Maybe then it would eject itself out of her body.

Dean chuckled and looked at her. His eyes were overshadowed by the darkness that he held inside. "I would."

"Using the techniques Alastair taught you? How sweet," she spit at him.

"Too bad he ain't alive to know that," Dean shot back.

Her face fell to darkness. Her lip quivered and her eye twitched. "You killed him?"

"I did," Sam spoke up. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, that's too bad. He took a liking to Dean. You know, I really thought-"

Dean cut Angel's skin and the demon screamed. "Who is raising the army?"

She sat back in her chair and collected her thoughts. She contained her breathing and stated, "I'm not going to tell you."

Dean poured salt on the knife and continued to slash her skin until her shrieking died down. Blood was everywhere and stained Angel's clothes. It looked like a lawn mower attacked her. "Tell us who," Castiel demanded.

"Or what, lover boy?" The demon managed to say.

Cas stole the knife and dragged the tip of it down her shoulder and stopped at her fingers. The salt and holy water mixed together and burned as it entered her blood stream. "Or I'll personally send you to the King of Hell and he'll take care of you himself."

She spit out some blood and cringed at the pain in her throat. "So an angel that's buddies with Crowley? That's a first."

Sam jumped up and snatched the knife from Castiel's hands. The blade dug into her skin over and over, ripping it apart little by little. The demon screamed out of sheer pain. He yelled, "You sit there and take control of the woman I care about the most, and all you do is be a smart ass?" Sam kept tearing her skin apart with a crazed look in his eye. "You have the audacity to threaten us. To threaten me. You don't know who you're messing with."

Angel gained control of her body and her eyes changed back to normal. She cried as he cut her. "Sam, stop."

He immediately dropped the blade. "Angel?"

"I don't know how long I have to talk." Angel tried to breathe in and cringed. "I know everything she knows. Get her out of me."

Sam caressed Angel's face and tears filled his eyes. "I will, I promise." He smiled and asked, "Did you hear everything I said earlier?" Angel nodded wearily and he brushed the hair out of her face. "You're my responsibility. I'll make sure you get out of this safely."

"You have to get her out now. She's been torturing me, Sam," Angel cried.

"Call me Sammy," his lip twitched and he could feel the water works. He could feel the guilt. He could feel everything.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. "Sammy, I feel like I'm going to die…"

"No, no you're not." The puppy dog look covered Sam's face and he kissed her cheek.

"Aw, how cute," the demon remarked, changing her eyes back to black. "Now that that touchy feely moment is over, let's get back down to business boys." Sam backed away and she asked, "Now, where were we?"

"Cas, go get Alice." Dean ordered. Cas did as he asked and left.

"Are you really going to make me kill her, Sam?"

Sam turned red and grabbed the jug of holy water and dumped the whole thing on Angel. Her cry of terror was high enough to break glass and could be heard from outside. He started reciting the incantation. "Exorcizamus te, Omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incusrio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio,omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo draco maledicte, Ut ecclesiam tuam secura, tibi facias libertate servire," Sam stopped after seeing Angel's eyes turn back to its normal blue.

"Sammy!" She shrieked. She was sweating from screaming her lungs out and her voice was horse. When he stopped, she forced herself to say, "Hurry up and finish it."

Sam hesitated before seeing Angel's eyes roll to the back of her head. He yelled, "Te rogamus, audi nos!"

The demon was ejected from Angel's body. The black smoke floated around for a second after it was completely out of Angel, vanished into the floor and back to hell. Angel fell limp and Sam rushed to her. "Angel!"

Dean rushed to the door, "Cas, where are you?"

Alice sprinted into the room and saw Sam untying her sister. "She's alive, right?"

"Yeah, she has to be," Sam replied in a hurry.

"I can heal her," Castiel offered. Sam nodded and Cas walked over to Angel. He put his fingers on her forehead and a bright light shined in the room. The light faded seconds later and all of her wounds faded away. He backed up and let Alice go in front of him.

Angel lifted her heavy eyelids and Alice quickly hugged her. "Don't scare me like that again." She held her older sister there for what had felt like forever, her arms wrapped around her so tight that it made it hard to breathe.

Angel kissed her sister's head and returned the hug. "That bitch didn't mean anything she said."

"I know. I know you too well," Alice merely laughed and backed away. She gazed into her sister's big blue eyes and smiled weakly. "It's you and me against the world."

Cas cleared his throat, "So? What was the demon talking about-" Dean smacked Cas' arm and gave him a look. Cas looked down at the floor, feeling sort of awkward, "I'll let you have your moment to rest."

Dean and Cas walked out of the room. Alice backed away when her sister saw Sam. Sam took her hand in his and said, "Angel Montgomery, I love you with all of my heart."

Angel's heart stopped. Years ago, if someone had told her that her life would be like this, filled with love and hunting, she would have laughed in their face and spat she would never find love. But here Sam Winchester is, proclaiming his undying love for her. This was a dream come true for her, because that was the closest that she'll ever get to the family life she once had. She regained her composure and grinned at him. Her majestic blue eyes widened and her breath hitched. "I…" Angel had to force the words she hadn't said to anyone else other than family, "I love you too, Sam Winchester."

Sam instantly kissed her.

Alice smiled uncontrollably. Her heart fluttered as she watched them kiss. This is what she was waiting for. Someone to love her sister as much as Alice has. When they continued to kiss, Alice rolled her eyes and left the room. She found Dean sitting in the other room alone. He appeared to be in deep thought and Alice tapped him on the shoulder. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing's wrong."

"That's what you always say." Alice stood in front of him and looked at him curiously. His brown hair was spiked up and his green eyes stared right back at her. His strong jaw line matched his broad shoulders, which made his leather jacket that much cooler. "Have you experienced this before?"

"What?"

She sighed, "Has your brother been in my sister's position before?"

He nodded his head slowly. "It was a long time ago. The event was frightening, to say the least." Dean looked away. "When I saw how broken Sammy was about Angel being possessed, I knew we had to take care of it fast. She's made him so happy."

Alice nodded in agreement. "I know. It's like they're meant to be."

"Do you ever think you and Cas will ever-"

Alice cut him off with a smile, "I'm working on it." She saw how distracted Dean was and declared, "You'll find someone, Dean. I promise."

Dean grinned automatically, "I know. Who could resist a lady killer like me?" Alice made a move to hug him, but he put his hands up and chuckled, "Hey, no chick flick moments."

Alice nodded and walked out of the room, leaving him alone to his thoughts.

_Author's Note: Please leave a review on the story. I'm not sure if anyone is going to like it...or even if I should keep posting it on this site. I post it on wattpad, but I wasn't getting feedback on that either...Can anyone tell me if the story is good or bad? Too cliche? Kind of original? Anything would help. Thank you._


	17. Chapter 17

Dean turned his head away from the television. He always hated commercials. They were bland and not funny at all. No one had the comedic abilities he did. His green eyes wandered around the room and he saw Sam and Angel wrestling on the floor over her cell phone. Castiel and Alice were telling each other jokes as they gazed into each other's eyes. Dean rolled his eyes and snorted. A black hole of emptiness had taken the place of his heart for a while now. Ever since he became the fifth wheel, things got awkward. Sure, he went out once in a while, spent the night with a one night stand, and he'd end up forgetting her name the next morning. What a life to live, huh?

"What's your problem?" Sam questioned as he sat down on the couch next to him. He was panting wildly from his fight with Angel and his brown hair was messed up.

"I miss Ben and Lisa," he bluntly stated, without even taking his eyes away from the television. Dean could feel his brother's stare on him, so he kept talking. "I wish I hadn't dragged them into danger, but I wish things were easier. I want to be happy. I want to have a normal functioning family."

Castiel intervened, "That's why I wiped their memories, so they won't be in danger. They would be dead right now if you were in their lives."

Sam shot a look at Cas and turned back to dean. He raised his eyebrows and his forehead scrunched up. "It will be okay. You'll find a girl of your own that you can actually be with. Maybe you'll find another hunter."

Dean sighed in frustration, "You don't get it. I had it all. I had a family and they were torn apart from me. That's something I ain't ever gettin' back." A single tear came to his eye, but he didn't let it escape. "We used to be the greatest Sammy. You and me against the world with Cas sometimes as our sidekick."

"Sidekick?" Castiel scoffed.

Dean ignored his comment and stated, "Now, everything's different."

"So, what, you want us to leave?" Angel questioned in a hurt tone.

"Gee, wouldn't that be helpful," he replied. He shook his head slightly, regretting his last comment immediately. "You know I ain't asking you to do that since you make my brother so happy. I get it. Alice keeps Cas entertained. Who do I have?" He glimpsed around the room quickly and said, "No one. Both of them know you guys can die at any moment because that's what always happens with women we're with." A moment of silence took over and Sam and Cas shrugged. "It's not fair that I couldn't keep my family and they can." Dean sprung up from the couch and slammed the door as he exited the motel room. He ran his hand across his Impala and whispered, "Baby, we're going for a ride."

Dean pulled up to the first bar he spotted. The emotions that he bottled up inside almost shattered and nearly killed him on the inside. _It used to be Sammy and me against the world. Now it's the freakin' Breakfast Club. _He shook his head in dismay and choked down a sigh. _They have families and I don't. My family doesn't even know who I am. They think I was responsible for their car crash and that is it. That's all they'll remember me as, if they even remember me at all. _He sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. Dean scouted the bar, only to be disappointed. Business was dead. He must've chosen the only bar that no one cared to go to. A few old drunks sat at tables, but other than that, the only young one here was the bartender. He was a guy, so Dean didn't seem satisfied. He feels as if he should've scouted the place before he sat down. This place as a second home? Dean didn't want to become a sad drunk like these fools. He started considering that moving into Angel's childhood home seemed like a great idea. He's always wanted a home. He _needed_ a home. Always lost on the road, living in Baby half the time, cheap motels and all, it had become the Winchester's way of life. A change was surely overdue. A new chapter of their lives had begun, which means change was a good thing. Hopefully.

This was the time he'd need some girl to comfort him and make him feel a lot better in ways he could never imagine. That's just how it was. He was the flirty, irresistible type who always got the girl, but never stayed for breakfast the next morning. Dean wondered why that was. He decided to look at Sam's life.

Sam treated his women differently, but then again, he was different from his brother. He was the nerdy, innocent type. Sam would sleep with a girl, but stay for breakfast the next day. He'd treat her like a princess and he was always so kind. He'd let himself fall for the woman and express his feelings in any way possible.

Maybe that's what Dean was doing wrong. He was holding himself back from feeling anything. From expressing anything. The only thing he knew was pain. Letting himself love or care about someone could be the key. But was he ready to let himself express anything? After losing Ben and Lisa, it seemed almost impossible to even have the thought. Dean would rather take them over a hunter any day. That could've been why he's left before the woman he's slept with has woken up so many times. He didn't want to face the fact that something good could actually happen in his life. That his life could be full of love without Ben and Lisa. The thought was nightmare fuel for him.

He drank a bit too much and walked out of the bar. It was dead quiet in there, so he had no business in being there. That wasn't the place he wanted to screw around in. Dean walked passed the alley and heard a woman struggling. His green eyes searched the dark alley, but everything was blurry and the earth was moving too fast to focus. Dean mustered up his brain power to figure out that she was being attacked. He grabbed the machete in his coat pocket and stumbled over to them. "Hey…L-let her…her go…" Dean stuttered and maintained his balance. He didn't know what kind of creature it was, or if it was even a creature at all. The assaulter could just be a regular human.

But as Dean trudged closer, the assaulter peered over at him. The woman managed to get free while he was distracted and escaped. The man smiled and showed his pearly white, sharp fangs. "This is going to be easy," the man stated as he observed Dean's drunk state.

"You think so? You've clearly never heard about me," Dean shot back. The night was dark, which only made Dean's drunk state that much worse. He kept his eye on the man the best to his ability and grasped onto the handle tighter.

"I think you're just some drunk hunter who doesn't know what he's getting himself into," the vamp spit back with a sharp tongue. He calmly stepped over to Dean.

When the man reached his hand out to touch him, Dean immediately reacted and cut his arm off at the elbow. The vampire screamed and Dean saw his chance. He forced the blade into the stranger's side, not thinking straight. The man laughed at his failed attempt and picked Dean up by his throat. "I think you're the one who's going to lose here. You don't know how to kill a vampire, do you?" Dean's eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head before he raised his arm and swung the machete at the vamp's neck. He used so much force that it chopped his head off in one swift move; gravity took over and the body fell.

Dean fell and regained his composure. "That's how you kill a vampire…" he spit on the body and used the deceased's jacket to wipe off the blood on the machete. Dean immediately put the weapon away and walked out of the alley. He picked through his pockets to find his cell phone. He dialed a number.

"Hello?" Angel answered after a few rings.

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned against Baby. "Where's Sammy?"

"He just jumped into the shower."

Dean grimaced. "And Cas?"

"Gone someplace," she simply said.

The last thing he wanted was to get into a car with Angel. They always bickered when around each other. "Alice?"

She sighed, realizing his sad attempt to stay away from her. "Asleep." Dean stayed silent, contemplating on something to say. "Are you too drunk to drive home?" Angel asked caringly.

Dean's heart melted a little. _Does she actually care about me?_ Dean wondered. They were never on the best of terms because they butted heads a lot, but sometimes they did get along. Not all brothers and sisters like each other. "Yeah. Mind picking me up?"

"Where are you at?"

He could hear her scurrying around in the background. "Mike's Tavern."

"Of course, a bar," she snorted, choking down a laugh. "I'll be there in ten."

Dean silently waited there next to his Impala. Memories travelled through his mind in a slow traffic, making him remember everything that's ever happened to them. Seeing Sam die. Selling his own soul to save Sam. Sam being taken over as Lucifer's vessel. Their half-brother, Adam, being the angel Michael's vessel. Both of them going to hell. Sam coming back. _Shit, we forgot Adam in hell._ The chances of him remembering that in the morning? Slim to none. He was so lost in his memories that he didn't notice Angel walking down the street. _Has it already been ten minutes?_ He wondered. "You walked here?"

She smiled a bit, "Yeah, it's not that far. Why, worried about me?"

"Never. You're too bad-ass to worry about," Dean remarked.

That comment brought a joy out in Angel. She beamed, "I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

"Doesn't happen often, darlin'."

She set out her hand in front of him, "Keys."

He reluctantly handed her the keys to his beloved car and got into the passenger side. "If you put a dent in her, you-"

"I'll what? Be eating dirt for breakfast? Get my butt kicked in a wrestling match? Get shot? Stabbed? Possessed?" -They actually laughed at that incident now- "Sued?" She laughed, "Come on, Dean. I would never do that to your car."

"Sure you wouldn't," he rolled his eyes.

Angel turned on the heater and heard a rattling in the car as she drove. "What in God's name is that?"

Dean grinned at the memories. "I accidentally put a few Legos in there when I was little and we never took them out. It's what makes Baby so unique."

"A flare of Dean Winchester in this car? I would have never guessed," she scoffed in sarcasm. "This thing has more dents and scratches inside to prove the history. I, of all people, can see that."

Dean remembered everything like it was yesterday. The legos, the little army man that got stuck in the passenger door, carving their initials into the car, so many things made this car so special. Special to Dean. Special to Sam. Someday, Dean wished to give this car to Ben. Ben…

Dean's eyes wandered outside of the window. "I used to have a family."

"Yeah? And who were they?" Angel asked, intrigued.

"I had this beautiful girlfriend named Lisa. She was gorgeous. Brown hair, eyes that you could get lost in. She liked me for who I was and didn't shun me out. For a while, I was convinced Ben was my kid. Hell, I still think so. He's so much like me it's insane. The lady killer, irresistible looks, killer charm, good taste in music and comfy clothes, he has it all," Dean answered as his heart shattered.

Angel remained quiet before whispering, "What happened?"

Dean waited to see if he could even muster up the breath to say it out loud again. Tears started blurring his vision. "They were taken. Put into danger. All because of me." He hung his head low. "When I saved them, Lisa was pretty banged up. I took her to the hospital and Cas wiped their memories of me. When I went in to say goodbye, they didn't recognize me. Complete stranger to my own family…" Dean inhaled deeply and remained calm. "You don't know how much that killed me. They were my whole world. Now they had their own world and I was the alien…"  
>"Dean, I'm so sorry…" Angel declared with a broken voice. He could feel the wave of depression hit the car like a tidal wave.<br>"You know, after the gorilla wolves attacked, it brought back memories I didn't want to fight against. In purgatory, it was hard for me. Nearly dying, if that was even possible in such a place, caused me to meet a friend. I never thought I'd make it out of there alive. Cas was gone, supposedly protecting me from whatever was on my trail. I met back up with him and escaped, but he didn't come with." Dean gazed at Angel. "Now, I've finally scrapped together a family. It might be duct taped, but it's here. It's all I've got." His eye twitched and tears began raining down his face. "I don't wanna remember anything. I don't wanna feel a damn thing."

Angel turned to him after shutting the engine off. "It's what we've all got to go through. I know somewhat of what you're feeling. I know for a fact that it doesn't feel good, but we live on. We march forward onto the road less traveled because that's all we've got. We're in this together, Dean. I'm here for you," her features softened and she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Look, I know we're too much alike and fight a lot, but seeing as you make Sammy happy, then you make me happy. You're family." Dean opened his arms, "And I know I say no chick flick moments, but right now I could use a hug."

Angel flew into his arms and hugged him tightly. He hooked his arms underneath hers and pulled her into him tightly. Dean's lips pressed against her collar bone and dug his fingers into her back. He was definitely warm and smelled like smoke and cheap soap. She could feel the tears slide down her skin and into her shirt. She sighed in content in the crook of his neck until he stopped crying. Out of all the things Dean Winchester could've said to her, he said the words she'd been longing to hear. That was a huge step forward in their relationship that she thought wouldn't happen for another four years. Dean had his hardships in the past, but only he could convince himself to move on. "I believe we can move towards the future together, Dean. I'll help you be happy again. I believe in you."

Dean thought long and hard about those words. He wanted a fresh start, but was it too soon? Or too late? Is it ever too late to take a fresh start and begin a new chapter? With his family by his side, Dean hoped that they would achieve things greater than all of them combined.


	18. Chapter 18-Year 5

Sam moved around on the bed and relaxed. His arm was wrapped around Angel, who slept soundly next to him. The air in the room felt cool and calm, something Sam wasn't used to. Ever since they moved into the Montgomery's house, Sam had this urge to settle in before the opportunity went away. He didn't know how long they would stay there, or even how long they'd be a family altogether. All that mattered was having everyone under the same roof and alive. He brushed the hair out of Angel's face and smirked slightly, never wanting it to end. Her eyebrows twitched at times, meaning she was dreaming something that bothered her. Angel's breathing, soft and calm, gave Sam chills. Relaxing felt so good right there and then that he didn't want to ever get up. The alarm started going off and played, "The Heat of the Moment" by Asia and he shot up. He frantically went to turn the alarm off and, when he couldn't figure out how, he unplugged it an threw it onto the floor.

Angel groaned, "What's wrong? Why are you spazzing out?"

Sam rushed out of the room and opened Dean's bedroom door. He saw him still sound asleep on his bed, snoring away. He sighed in relief and gently closed the door. He fixed his grey shirt and red flannel sleep pants. "What day is it?" He asked Angel quietly.

"Tuesday. Why?" She questioned as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Her hair looked like a crow's nest; her black tank top was not straight; the blue shorts she had on were sticking to her skin.

Sam walked down the stairs quietly and Angel followed him like a ninja. He glanced over the entryway and the living room. The green walls had lost their brightness and were in the process of becoming a dull green; the brown wooden flooring needed polishing; the white laced curtains were the first things they washed, for the dust had turned it grey; pictures still hung on the walls and were freshly dusted, along with posters and signatures from actors; the room, once empty, has now been filled with life over the last couple weeks. Sam saw the white doors leading to the dining room were closed, so he walked down the hallway and peered around the corner and into the kitchen. There was someone in there. He turned on the lights and saw a man sitting on the marble countertop eating Dean's pie. "Hey Sammy." His brown hair went slightly passed his ears and his bright eyes were glued to Sam as a smile plastered itself onto his pie-filled face. "Have you gotten taller?"

Sam pointed his finger at him and became furious, "I thought you wouldn't do this to me again."

The man gazed over Sam's shoulder and saw Angel there trying to take in what was going on. He laughed, "Whoa, hotty alert over here. Someone call the fire department because she is smokin'!"

Angel raised an eyebrow and glimpsed at Sam with her tired blue eyes. "Who is he?"

The man put the pie down, slid off of the counter, took her hand and stated, "Gabriel, angel of the lord," -he kissed her hand- "at your service."

Sam yanked him away from her, "Why are you here? What danger are you bringing into our home?"

Gabriel raised his hands up. "Hey, you and Deano are usually the ones to bring the danger, not me."

"That didn't answer my question," he folded his arms across his chest.

"Look," Gabriel sighed in frustration, "I've had fun and all, giving you that scare, but I just need a place to lie low for now."

"What, living in porn movies weren't good enough for you?" Sam shot back in a sassy tone.

"That will always be fun," he chuckled. "I needed to come to the real world. Live a little. Socialize. I needed to check up on my two favorite humans." He paused before adding, "Is she yours, or Deano's?"

Angel snorted, "I'm Sam's girlfriend. I'm too similar to Dean to actually date him."

"Is there a hot version of girl Sam too?" Gabriel remarked.

"She's my younger sister." Angel seemed to trust him enough to tell him. Sam knew him and was civil with him enough. Maybe he was a good guy.

"Is she dating Dean? Because that'd be weird."

Sam rolled his eyes. "She's not. Wh-"

Gabriel cut him off, "So you're saying she's single?"

"Happily taken," Angel sneered. It wasn't even five minutes and this angel was trying to hit on her sister!

"Are you in any kind of trouble?" Sam interrogated as he leaned against the counter.

"No. As I said before, I need a place to lie low. I don't need the angels to know where I am. I left heaven for a reason, and family was the main one," he admitted.

"You can't-"

Angel interrupted Sam, "You can stay here."

Sam turned his head quickly, possibly getting whiplash in the process, "What?"

"He can stay here," she repeated.

"Do you know what you're saying? You're going to let a trickster stay in our home, where he could potentially ruin everything?"

Gabriel put a hand to his heart, "Hey, words hurt you know."

Sam ignored him and waited for Angel to reply. "He needs a place to stay. I'm not going to let him go out into the world where other angels could find him. He'll be fine."

"Yeah, I promise I'll be good," he looked at Sam with raised eyebrows, causing his forehead to scrunch up.

After a moment, Sam exhaled loudly, "Fine, he can stay."

"Oh, thanks pal! And maybe we can have a slumber party and braid each other's hair."

Sam rolled his eyes and scoffed at his sarcasm. "There's a spare bedroom right here," Angel pointed at the door straight across from the kitchen, "so if you get tired, you can sleep in there."

Gabriel nodded and picked up the pie tin, "I think I'll finish this off first."

"That's Dean's apple pie. You probably shouldn't eat that if you want to see the light of day tomorrow. Angel and I will not take the blame for you," Sam explained and took Angel's hand. "We're heading back to bed, but remember, no tricks!"

"You don't trust me to keep my word? Sam, that's not very nice," Gabriel called after them. When he didn't reply, Gabriel shrugged and continued eating the remaining pie.

A soft crackling sound emerged from the kitchen as Alice scrambled around, cooking some bacon and eggs on the stove. The biscuits sat in the oven, heating up; the table was set, along with a breakfast salad in the center. She was a busy bee and wanted everything to look nice for the first breakfast she cooked for everyone. It had been so long since they all could sit back and relax without having to worry about the latest monster down the street. Today was their day off from the chaos in their lives. She sighed in content and happily thought of Cas cuddled up in her bed upstairs. Alice thought he was the most adorable person on the planet, and imagining that picture made her believe it. She really was in love with him.

Someone started talking, pulling Alice out of her thoughts, "Ooo, so you're the hot younger sister Angel was talking about last night."

Alice nearly jumped out of her skin and went to grab one of the sharp knives in the knife set, but she realized he said he talked to Angel, so she concluded he wasn't a threat. She brushed her red hair back with her hand and turned around to see the man. "Excuse me?"

The man was slightly taller than she was and his eyes met hers. He cracked a smile and took a piece of bacon that was cooking, taking a huge bite out of it. "Mmm, and a great cook too."

She snorted, "It doesn't take a lot of cooking skill to make bacon and eggs."

"Are you a health nut like Sam?"

She was slightly offended by his question. "I prefer the term _healthy_, thank you very much." Alice wiped her greasy hand on her grey sleep shirt and fixed her red plaid pants.

Castiel trudged into the kitchen in his tied blue robe; his eyes lit up when he saw the man. He was shocked and stopped in his tracks. "Gabriel…what are you doing here?"

"Baby brother!" Gabriel exclaimed. "So you stuck with the Winchesters after all."

Castiel hugged him tightly and backed away to take a good look at him. "It's good to see you alive and well."

Alice was surprised that the strange man that complimented her was an angel. She smiled to herself and spoke over the loud sizzling, "I guess good looks runs in the family."

Gabriel laughed and added, "Yeah, too bad it skipped little Cassie over here." Cas scowled at Gabriel, kissed Alice, and bid her a good morning. Gabriel reacted instantly. "Wait a minute here! Even Castiel is getting some? Did the world finally end? And if it did, where's Lucy?" He peered around the room in a joking manner and chuckled.

Cas didn't take his joke too lightly. "Lucifer needs to stay where he belongs. He'd kill us all in a heartbeat. It wouldn't matter if we're family."

"You're such a downer, little bro. You need to lighten up," Gabriel patted him on the shoulder before leaving to sit in the dining room.

"Lighten up," Castiel scoffed, "since when has he ever been around to notice anything about me?"

"I don't want any fighting between you two. We already have enough fighting with Angel and Dean around." Alice took the bacon and let the grease soak into a napkin. "Plus I'd really like to get to know your family. It gives me more opportunities to hear about your past."

Cas took the biscuits out of the oven after turning it off and place them into a wooden basket. "I have over a hundred brothers and sisters. Almost all of them aren't like Gabriel and I. They obey orders too much and don't know what it's like to be human. It's sad, really."

"That's a drag," Alice admitted and took the scrambled eggs off of the pan.

Cas laughed to himself, "Tell me about it."

Dean stumbled into the kitchen and before they could say a word to him, he put up a finger to shush them and he checked the fridge. He suddenly became red and slammed the door shut. "Okay, who's the son of a bitch that ate my pie?"

"Wasn't us," Cas and Alice responded at once.

Dean was about to stomp into Sam's bedroom and shake the life out of him, until he realized someone was sitting in the dining room. "Gabriel?" Dean grinned a bit. Another person he knew that was alive? The more, the merrier. He then remembered the situation and furrowed his brow. "You ate my pie, didn't you?"

"Why is everyone hating on me? I'm an innocent angel who hasn't done anything wrong," Gabriel batted his lashes repeatedly.

"That was my pi-"

Gabriel snapped his fingers and another pie popped up on the counter. Dean noticed it before he continued and went to inspect it. He sniffed it, licked the top of it, and glanced at every centimeter of the pie. "Is it filled with poison? I don't want a repeat of that taco incident."

"Deano, it pains me that you think I'd do that to you," Gabriel put his hands to his heart and leaned back in pretend agony.

"You've done it before, I wouldn't be surprised if you did it again," Dean admitted. He grabbed a fork and put a piece of pie on a plate.

Alice snarled at him, "I made breakfast for a reason."

Dean raised his fork in defense. "I'll eat both, alright? No need to get all feisty."

Angel rushed down the stairs and ran straight towards the fridge with Sam not too far behind. She pulled out a bottle of beer and held it tightly against her body, "This is mine!"

Sam attempted to snatch it away, "No, I told you I wanted the last one!"

"I already have it!" Angel was about to make a run for it, but Sam picked her up. She squirmed in his grasp and felt like she was being picked up by a giant. He was so much taller than she was that she was like a mouse. "Let me go!"

"Not until you give me that bottle," he declared sternly.

"Are they always this sickening?" Gabriel questioned to the rest of the group.

All three of them nodded and Dean replied, "She's exactly what Sammy needs in his life, though. She completes him. Even though they're sickening sweet, I'd rather have a happy Sammy than a mean one."

"I heard that!" Sam called from the kitchen.

Angel squealed and dashed into the dining room. She took her seat on the end of the table across from Alice. The delicious aroma of a freshly home-cooked meal met Angel's nose and made her mouth water. "This smells amazing."

"Thank you," Alice stated with a full mouth of lettuce.

"If you're expecting me to eat that rabbit food, you're clearly wrong," Dean remarked, referring to the salad, as he took a handful of bacon.

Alice talked in a dead tone laced with sarcasm, "Yeah, I was totally expecting you to eat salad after you placed a giant piece of pie on your plate."

Sam set a glass of water on the table and started to get some salad. "Gabriel, why don't you tell us some stories about Castiel from your childhood, that is, if you had one."

"I don't think-"

Gabriel cut Cas off and snapped his fingers. Cas' mouth was duct taped shut and he was tied to the chair. His bright blue eyes widened in horror at the possibilities of endless embarrassing stories Gabriel could tell about him. He began to shake his head rapidly at the thought of the idea. Gabriel smiled so widely that it looked like his lips were about to rip apart. "I'd love to share some stories about my baby brother! What a great idea, Sam, I'm glad you brought that up." Alice became a little jumpy, but remembered there was not an imminent danger. She calmed herself and tapped her fork against her plate lightly. Gabriel stretched out and cracked his knuckles and neck. "So, let's pick a simple, less embarrassing one…When Castiel was little, which was a very, very long time ago, he wanted to be like the human children and play with a ball all day before they helped around the house. He begged me to make him a ball to play with, so I did. Lucifer convinced him to kick the ball in a certain direction, so Cas did. It ended up hitting Balthazar in the head, pissing him off. He adored little Cassie, so he didn't do anything about it. Then, I started making more balls appear and he kept kicking them while Lucy cheered him on. Michael and Raphael just shook their heads at us and kept going with their made up training."

Everyone cracked a smile and Dean shoved another piece of pie in his mouth. "So, Cas liked humans back then too? That's surprising. He had his panties in a twist when we met him." Castiel shot him an innocent look and cocked his head.

Gabriel nodded, "That was because of me. A lot of things have happened to him that he doesn't trust easily. There was this one time where he was learning how to use his wings and fly. I tied up Castiel's wings before he jumped off the cliff. He screamed like a little girl all the way down. When I got done laughing, I swooped down to catch him before he fell out of heaven. He cried in front of the whole future garrison and everyone laughed at him."

"Aw, Cas," Alice frowned in sorrow.

Sam's lips tightened into a line, "That sounds really embarrassing."

Dean finished off his food before adding another story. "Sam got locked in with a clown before. He pissed his pants 'cause he was so scared."

"You know, it'd be a lot better if we focused less on me and more on Cas," Sam stated in a stern tone. "I've been embarrassed enough with memories already."

Castiel shot daggers at his brother and continued to try to get free. Gabriel couldn't stop cackling at the memories. "The best one is when Balthazar took some marijuana from earth and added it into brownies, which he was the creator of pot brownies, and he ate them with a clueless Castiel. They were both higher than heaven was and Lucy and I had a great time messing with them. We convinced Cas that he was a rebellious type and he flew across heaven naked and trashed one of the boot camps."

Everyone broke out into laughter and called, "Ooooooo."

"I wonder how that looked," Alice wondered to herself.

When it died down, Angel giggled, "Am I the only one who wants to see Cas high?"

"I do," everyone else joined in on the idea. Cas was the only one who shook his head in dismay.

"There's another story, but I think I've embarrassed little Cassie enough." Gabriel snapped his fingers and set Cas free.

Castiel almost leapt at his older brother before Angel stopped him, "Not in the house where you can break something!"

Cas shot him a death glare before sitting back down to eat some breakfast. Gabriel stuck his tongue out at him and munched on a biscuit. Everyone settled down from story time and finished their breakfasts.


	19. Chapter 19

"Cas, we're leaving you in charge," Dean stated as he fixed his suit jacket.

"Where are you going?" Alice questioned in confusion.

Angel ran down the stairs and finished running her hands through her wavy hair. "Dean found another case. We're going to check it out."

"And you didn't tell me?" Alice asked in shock.

"I'm just heading to the medical examiner's office to get some data. That's it. There's nothing interesting about what I'm going to do," Angel replied.

"What if I wanted to join the boys?"

Castiel turned to her with big blue eyes, "Don't leave me here with Gabriel."

The boys shrugged, made a That's-Not-My-Problem face, and walked out the door. Angel pointed at them to show Alice that she was better off with Cas and left. "So, boys, what's wrong today?" She asked after a few minutes of driving.

"A man was murdered. Typical deal. The crime is a unique one, which is the only thing that's been leaked. There's been another like it, but that was years ago," Sam answered shortly.

Angel scrunched her nose, "So, a serial killer? Same MO?"

Dean looked back at her through the rearview mirror. "Yeah, we think so."

"What does that have to do with us, then? We hunt evil supernatural, not serial killers," Angel declared.

"Yeah, well, we haven't found a case in a little while. This could be a potential case and we don't even know it," Sam added.

Angel leaned against the seat and crossed her arms. "We could travel the nation like we used to, but we decided to settle down. It should be nice that we haven't found a case in a little while. Right? We get to relax."

"Yeah," Dean glanced back at her and draped his arm on the top of the seat, "it's the only thing we've known to do. We hunt. It's the family business."

"Instead of chasing cases, we should be worrying about this impending apocalypse that demon was talking abo-"

Sam interrupted Angel in a heartbeat, "She was a manipulating liar. We've stopped the apocalypse before, took on Lucifer, and went to hell and back. Literally. What have we got to worry about?"

Angel scoffed and scrunched her eyebrows together, "Everything! I know what she knew. Sam, this is bigger than all of us combined. She wasn't lying. There's been talk around hell and on earth between the demons that the apocalypse will happen and they will use you as a vessel. I didn't want to believe it either, but it's the truth. If they get a hold of you, things could get way uglier than we hoped."

"Over my dead body," Dean remarked as he kept his eyes on the road. His body tensed up and he stretched in his seat.

Sam huffed and gazed outside of the window. What did she know? The demon could have been lying and believed the lie so much that it became a truth to her. But what if she was right? Yellow eyes wasn't really specific in his plans. Lucifer's plans were shot down after Dean wrecked everything. Were their epic lives going to end with the looming apocalypse that was supposed to happen years ago? Was that really how everything was going to end? That was absurd. Sam closed his eyes and exhaled. "We can train all we want, but we probably won't find out who is raising this evil being. Even if we do, isn't that what they want us to do? So I can become their vessel? I'd be right in their line of sight."

Angel stayed quiet. She knew he was right. That would be the stupidest idea on the planet to show up, intending to stop it, only to make it happen. "What are we going to do about it then?"

Dean stopped at the police department. "Nothing. We need to keep our focus on something else until then. If we worry too much, we won't pay attention to what's happening now. The present is much more important than the future because the future has millions of possibilites."

"Very philosophical coming from you Dean," Angel snorted and got out of the car. She slammed the door and walked inside to go to the coroner's office.

Dean backed out and drove to the crime scene. Dean asked, "Do you think she's right, Sammy? That this apocalypse will happen?"

Sam sighed as he fixed his tie. "It sounds inevitable. If the demon believed it was going to happen, then Angel does too. I don't want to doubt her because things like this happens to us all the time. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

In a matter of minutes, they were at the scene of the crime. The house was smaller than most apartments and all that was around it was crime scene tape. The place was empty of other life forms. "Guess we gotta wait and see, huh?"

The corners of Sam's mouth lifted slightly when he scoffed and glimpsed around the room as they entered the house. "That's something I don't want to do."

"We'll get through it, Sammy. We always do."

Sam's eyes darted around the room as he caught details about the place. White tape outline where the body was and blood drenched the carpet. The homicide had only been a day old. Sam was surprised not much of the crime scene was investigated. There were only four rooms in the tiny house: a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and living area. He quickly skimmed every area of the home and noticed something. "Do you see what I see?"

Dean was investigating the drawers of the desk in the living area. He rifled through it and shut it when he didn't find anything. "Nothing?"

Sam pointed at the walls, "No mirrors."

"Maybe he had a phobia."

Sam's phone began to ring; he immediately answered and put it on speaker. Angel spoke first, "So you'll never guess what I found out. The vic was killed with a shard of glass."

"There aren't any mirrors in his house, though," Sam said out loud.

"Exactly," she stated happily. "Which means he either had a phobia or didn't like how he looked."

"We figured that out a minute ago. You're late," Dean remarked from afar.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Dean," she shot back.

Sam rolled his eyes. Those two would never get along. "So, what does this mean? That there's something preying on people with phobias?"

"Yeah," she huffed, "That's pretty much all I could figure out."

"Maybe it's a ghost."

Dean chuckled to himself, "A ghost that preys on phobias? They must be really lonely in the afterlife."

"Or they got killed by their worst fear and is looking for revenge," Sam replied in a sassy tone.

Angel hesitated before asking, "Where are you guys?"

"The victim's house," Sam answered.

"When are you picking me up?"

Dean whistled to indicate he found something. He picked up a card that was on the floor and flipped it over. "Barney and Son's Halloween Store. That's been closed for three years now."

Sam, baffled by his brother's knowledge, had to ask, "How would you know that?"

"I do my research too," Dean stated as he got up.

Sam chuckled and stated, "Yeah, when you're not staring at porn."

"Hello?" Angel restated into the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're on our way." Dean signaled his brother to end the call and walked out of the door. "It would make sense for the spirit to prey on people's fears. Barney and his son, Julian, were murdered brutally in that place. He might be seeking revenge. Seems probable, right?"

Sam nodded, "I'm just surprised you did your homework and linked the two cases together."

Dean started up the Impala and drove back to the police station. "Yeah, it doesn't happen often. Appreciate that I did it this time so you don't have to."

Sam thought for a moment an adjusted in his seat. He noticed Dean's agitation and wondered what it was about. "You alright, man?"

Dean raised an eyebrow and glanced at his brother, "Yeah, why?"

"You seem…distant."

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently as he gathered his thoughts. "You know, I thought settling down would be nice. I've just grown…"

Sam finished when Dean trailed off, "Impatient? Restless?"

Dean nodded and set his free arm on the door frame. He inhaled and smelled the old, smoky smell the bars he went to contained. The bar…God, he missed that place. He didn't want a companion as much as he needed one, but what was he going to do? Dean was the black sheep in this new family. He was the only one without someone to come home to or make everyone else hate them for their mushiness. Don't get him wrong, he thought having the girls with them made the group stronger in every way. It's just that it made them all too close. Dean would die for Sam and Cas in a heartbeat, but they were all too close. He knew everything Angel, Cas, and Alice would do in certain situations and their favorite things. Not considering the fact that they were all alike, Dean thought that he knew everyone too well. That was dangerous. Once you get too close, it will only make it harder to let them go. Almost everyone Sam and Dean knew were dead. It's always the same fate with everyone they meet. Sooner or later they wind up greeting Death, someone the Winchesters knew too well. "I want to relax and have a simple life, but God, at what cost?"

Sam's stomach tied itself into a knot. He was afraid Dean would leave on his own quest. Then he would die some horrible death and Sam would be to blame. He let his brother go out there into the harsh world alone. They're wanted dead or alive by a lot of creatures out there. Dean wouldn't make it. Sam wouldn't be able to live in a calm state knowing he pretty much killed his older brother. Dean was someone he always looked up to. Someone who protected him in a time of need. He was the Batman to his Robin. He was the one who cared about Sam the most out of anyone in the world, and Sam was grateful for that. There were times that Dean gave up hope and it put them on different sides of the playing board, but overall, he didn't let anyone touch Sammy. If they did, he'd rip their heads off. "If you don't want to live the simple life, you and Angel could go off on a hunt or something."

"What, you don't wanna tag along?" Dean asked, offended.

Sam huffed and replied instantly, "No. I want to settle down for a while. I hunt because it's our true calling, but if I get the chance to relax for a bit, I'm going to take it. We finally settled somewhere nice. There's cases here and no one knows us. They won't recognize us as those mass murderers we've been claimed as. It's just really nice here."

Dean sighed and shifted in his seat. "I'm not going to leave you and Cas behind. I would never do that to you guys."

"The girls are our family too, Dean. You can't leave them behind either. I've seen you and Angel connect more than most people you talk to when you two aren't fighting. They're making an impact on all three of us, and that's a good thing." Sam looked out of the window to see Angel smiling as they pulled up to the police station.

She got into the car and asked, "Where to, boys?"

Dean pulled out a card and handed it to her. "Here. We're going to check the place out, and when it's dark, we'll go to the cemetery and burn his body."

"Sounds like a plan," she relaxed in her seat and enjoyed the drive. She didn't notice the small tension between the Winchesters, but it didn't matter. They listened to the music that played on the radio until they got to their destination.

_Author's Note: So, I realized that no one could see the years on the chapter titles, which made me kind of upset. Now it's all messed up...Can my readers leave a comment or a vote or something to let me know if I should keep posting the story on this site. If I don't get any replies, I'll just take it off the site completely. Thank you._


	20. Chapter 20

Dean pulled up to the Barney and Son's Halloween store. The windows were boarded up with wooden planks and graffiti was sprayed all over the building, covering every inch. He cut the engine and went directly to the trunk. His hands dug through the piles of guns and miscellaneous things that were stacked in the trunk and handed Sam and Angel a shotgun.

Angel cocked the shotgun and slung it on her shoulder. "What is in this?"

"Salt," Dean simply answered.

Sam seemed a little confused. He raised an eyebrow and looked at his brother, "How are we supposed to find the man's remains here? It's not like they put it in the walls."

"The remains were cremated. All that's left of theirs is the store. That's what he truly loved other than his son. I've done my research, Sammy. I know what I'm talking about," Dean stressed to him.

"So, salt stops ghosts?" Angel questioned as she cocked her head slightly. She had picked up that from Cas, which was becoming a bad habit.

Sam nodded. "It stalls them. If you create a salt circle and stand inside it, they can't pass it. Shooting it at them only gives you a couple seconds to recuperate. Iron makes them disappear and will stall them until you can do what you need to do. Which is why Dean and I have these," he pointed at his ring, "iron rings. We can just punch them in the face and not have to worry."

"Which is one of my favorite things to do," Dean slammed the trunk closed and walked towards the building. "The plan is we go in and find something that could be a valued treasure to this man."

"What if the whole building is a valued treasure?" Angel asked as she inspected the place.

Dean broke the glass to the doors and unlocked it from the inside. "Then we burn the goddamn place down."

They entered the small building quietly and glanced around, making sure there wasn't a ghost near them. The inside was completely trashed. Tables were thrown everywhere, some even broken in half, along with the metal chairs. The once white walls had paint chipped away in certain places and in other places was covered in stains. Angel didn't want to know where the different colored stains originated. Pieces of paper were balled together and littered next to the trashcan, as if someone were aiming for it. Rotten food melted away in the corner of the room, leaving a foul smell in the air. Someone had been staying here, but left a while ago. A whisper echoed from the other room, and everyone's attention was directed towards it. Dean lead the way and found a purple portal with flames around it.

Sam made a sour face, "This is exactly where a scary movie would start."

"Well, let's begin, shall we?" Dean stepped through the portal before Angel could stop him. Sam went through and Angel reluctantly followed.

Dean's emerald green eyes glimpsed around the tiny space he was in. He could see the top of heads and the blurry pattern of the seat in front of him. The air smelled of peanuts and baby oil. The only thing he could hear was the soft humming of an engine. His eyes adjusted to the bright light coming in from the window he was leaning against and realized something that terrified him.

He was on a plane.

Dean immediately rose from his seat and demanded to know where he was. No one spoke to him, or even noticed he was there. They simply ignored him and went on with their day.

Something wasn't right. Dean could feel it in his gut. The slight, utter panic started to settle in as the plane hit some turbulence. He shut his eyes and started saying some lyrics from one of his favorite songs. He stood next to the pilot's cabin, attempting to calm himself down before he went overboard with insanity. He couldn't recall how he got into the plane, or why he was even there. Dean could have sworn he was with Sam and Angel, but his memory was failing him. Maybe that was a dream…

A loud noise erupted from the side of the plane.

Or this was the dream…

Dean's full attention went to the right wing of the plane, which was covered in fire and black smoke. The people on board started panicking and shouting over the flight attendant's talking. The pilot got on the loud speaker and told everyone to calm down and that they had everything under control.

That's when everything went to hell.

The plane went into a vertical angle and was heading towards the ground at a great speed. Dean flew up and hit the roof of the plane, and fell onto the side wall after gravity took over. His stomach churned and his face was hot. Dean's breath was heavy; his chest was constricting; his lungs didn't feel like working correctly; bile rose in his throat as tears escaped his eyes. He wanted to scream, but not a single piece of his voice could be heard. Dean's mind was racing with a million thoughts a second. His life seemed to flash before his eyes, and all he could see were the good times in his life. It nearly made him smile before the plane crashed into the ground. This was his worst nightmare.

Angel stood in a cold, lit up room. The room itself wasn't big, but big enough to be considered a living room. She gazed around wearily and tried to recall how she got there in the first place. She was utterly confused to say the least. "Sammy?" She called out, but there was no answer. "Alice?" Silence greeted her ears and her heart began to pound. She walked to the walls and used her powers to ghost through, except she didn't. Angel pounded on the wall with her fists in her ghostly form, but she could not pass through. Couldn't pass through the walls, ceiling, or flooring. That's when she knew there was no hope. She was lost forever in a room made of lead. Lead. Her only weakness. How pathetic. This wasn't how she wanted to go out. This wasn't the blaze and glory she wanted. She searched for the door, only to come up with diddly squat. That's when something triggered.

The walls began closing in on her.

"No," she whispered to herself in disbelief. "This can't be happening." Her heart stammered against her chest. "No," she repeated over hundreds of times. Her brain sent out a signal to pump adrenaline into her body so she could escape, but there wasn't one. Angel's eyes flickered everywhere, searching for some tiny crevice to crawl up into and get out of there. Her brain was working over maximum drive and her hands started shaking. The panic finally set in as the walls on all four sides of her began to close in. "Dean? Cas! Sammy? Alice!" She screamed on the top of her lungs. The light bulbs shattered above her, making her shield herself from the falling glass and sparks. Sweat dripped down the side of her face as a panic attack settled in. Everything was pitch black, but she could still hear the scraping sound of the walls inching closer. Angel clutched her chest after attempting to push the walls away from her, but they kept closing in. Getting closer and closer. _Tick. Tock._ It was only a matter of time until she had a claustrophobic attack. _Tick. Tock._ Why was she here? How could this be happening? Her brain tried to process it, but she was too focused on her current situation. _Tick. Tock._ This was true nightmare fuel.

Sam ran down the long hallway as fast as he could. His heart rate was higher than the moon and his breathing hitched. He quickly looked back to see it still chasing him. His brown hair flopped everywhere as he turned back to look ahead and nearly crashed into the wall. "Dean! Angel!" Sam screeched as his feet pounded against the white tile. The grey walls were smeared in blood and the white tile was untouched. It seemed he was in the back of a Halloween store. He slammed the iron doors open and closed them behind him. He exhaled as he leaned against the door, satisfied that the thing couldn't get passed as he locked it. He hung his head and dragged his hands down his face. Sam didn't know where he was or how he got there. All he knew was this wasn't good.

The clown banged on the other side of the door as it angrily squeaked its red nose at Sam. Then, the banging stopped.

Sam lifted his head and looked around in sheer horror. His hands began to shake as he turned around to see the clown wasn't there anymore. "No…"

A honk came from in front of him. The time seemed to stop before he turned around. He knew what was there, but he didn't want to face it. Sam took the initiative to look at the creature. The clown's red nose was bleached in blood and the polka dotted outfit it wore was torn up. The white face paint, green messy hair, the crazed look in its eye, it all caused Sam's stomach to do back flips. Memories flashed through his head of all the times he faced such monstrosities. Those were times he didn't want to remember. This was a time where he just wanted to disappear.

When they finally left in the Impala, Gabriel laughed. "Castiel, lighten up. You're supposed to live happily, not distressed. The Winchesters will be fine."

"It's not them I'm worried about," he declared.

Gabriel nudged Alice's elbow. "You know what would be awesome?" Alice cocked her head slightly until he answered, "A candy mountain." At that exact moment, both of their eyes widened and they snapped in sync. Two mountains of candy was piled in the living room, burying the coffee table and two of the armchairs. He turned to her in curiosity and said, "That's something I didn't know about you. Awesome powers? You're my new best friend."

Alice smiled and stated, "We better eat all this candy up now."

Cas knit his eyebrows together, "Guys, I don't think that's such a great idea. They left me in charge." Alice popped a piece of butterscotch into his mouth and she caressed his face as she shushed him. He gave her a dirty look and narrowed his eyes, but then he stopped and tasted the candy. His face went completely straight, his eyes widened, and his pupils increased.


	21. Chapter 21

_Happy Holidays! I won't have a christmas scene set up until after the holidays, which is unfortunate. Please vote or comment on how much you like the story! I'd love to know. :) Have a safe and happy holiday!_

Sam did what his brain told him to.

_Run._

His legs carried him down another hallway and turned the corner before the creature could spot him. He didn't want to face the fact that there was a clown behind him. He wanted anything but that. Sam ran into a pitch dark room and turned on the flashlight in his hand. He shined it in front of him as he moved swiftly around the pieces of scattered furniture. That's when he stared down at his hand, puzzled, as to how he suddenly had a flashlight. He didn't remember having one, and most certainly, he wasn't holding one after he locked the clown out. Sam's eyes searched around and heard the clown getting closer in the hallway. His fingers flipped the flashlight off and stepped back the slightest bit. Sam stood still and held his breath, fearing the clown would find him again. He didn't know how to fight it or how it could even be defeated. There wasn't any hope in his eyes.

The footsteps went away after a minute, like the clown just gave up his search and went to try something new. Sam sighed in relief and turned on the flashlight. Chills raced down his back and his clammy hands were shaking. Thoughts swam through his mind and his breathing wouldn't stabilize. He glimpsed at the floor and shined the beam at his shoes. He thought something brushed his leg, but found nothing. Sam's eyes widened to the size of saucers. He saw a pair of big, yellow shoes on the ground behind him. His heart dropped to the floor and turned around immediately. The clown laughed at him and Sam reacted quickly. He punched the thing before it could attack him. The clown vanished and tackled him from behind. Sam cocked his head. The clown wasn't real.

_Is any of this real?_ That's when Sam remembered. They walked through the portal. He was with Angel and Dean before then, but they got separated somehow. He was going through his worst nightmare, so were Dean and Angel going through theirs? That could end terribly.

That meant none of this was real. He could take control.

Sam punched the ghost and ran through the building. He had to find the source of the portal. He was here for a reason. He passed by masks, props, decorations, and make-up before he made a sharp turn to the front of the store. He heard someone screaming a name and followed that. Another person to defend him against the clown was good enough for Sam. He felt like he needed an iron crowbar in his hands, and one literally poofed up into his hands. He made a not-bad face and thought, _I could get used to this._

"Julian!" The man called out frantically. He flipped tables over and threw chairs to the side. Blood stained the floors and walls, enough to leave a person weak from blood loss. The man heaved a breath in before calling the name again and again, crying his eyes out as he did. Sam held up the crowbar up to defend himself before approaching. The man tensed up and said before he turned around, "Don't. It'll just anger him."

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Anger who?" Sam tried to remember where he heard the name Julian before. _Is this the father and son that owned the Halloween store and were murdered?_

The man's dead, grey eyes met Sam's hazel ones. He fidgeted with his hands nervously, "You need to find the clown doll and torch it. I've tried, but I can't touch it."

"Barney, you aren't the one seeking revenge?" Sam questioned, throwing in his name to prove his thought.

Barney nodded. His eyes wandered behind Sam and the man stood straighter. His face drained of color, "Hey, Julian."

Sam spun around and locked eyes with the young boy. The boy's eyes were bloodshot and red plasma stained his clothes. "What were you talking about, Daddy?"

"Nothing, Julian. Where's your doll?" Barney asked calmly.

Julian's eyes flickered to Sam. "Who's this?"

"I don't know. I just met him," the father admitted. "Did you put your doll in the other room like I told you to?"

"Was he trying to hurt you, Daddy?" The boy craned his neck to fully stare up at Sam, who was towering over him like a giant.

Barney didn't hesitate to answer, "No, we were just talking."

Sam nodded and put the crowbar down. "I wasn't going to hurt anybody."

"You came to take my doll, haven't you? Take my doll like that man did years ago!" The boy screamed.

"That man didn't take your toy, Julian, he took your life!" Barney yelled.

The windows in the room shattered and glass flew everywhere. "You told him to do this, didn't you!" Julian shrieked and made the light bulbs explode above them. "How could you let this man take my stuff from me!"

Sam was nervous and ran the hell out of there. This was his chance to finally get out of this hell hole, or at least he hoped. What surprised him the most was the son was the cause of all this. He's the one seeking revenge, not the father. The father has just been tied to him because of the doll and how they were brutally murdered together. Otherwise, he'd most likely be in the afterlife. The son was upset that everything ended so quickly, that one murderer changed his life forever. Julian didn't get his way. Sam sprinted through the store as the windows combusted and spat glass at him. He shielded his eyes and tried to go faster, but failed. All of the windows were shattering and the lights were exploding as he went underneath them. He turned the corner into a room and searched frantically for a clown doll.

The only problem: the whole room was filled with clown dolls.

Sam got a lighter and set them all on fire after spraying salt and gasoline all over them. He didn't realize how easy it was to access these things in an alternate universe that it almost seemed too easy. Maybe that's how Alice felt all the time. He backed away and admired the view of his worst nightmare being devoured by the flames. The cackling flames burned everything in its path. Nothing seemed more calm than in that moment of silence.

A hand placed itself on his shoulder and Sam jerked around. Barney was standing there, ignoring the screams of the damned coming from outside the room. The sorrow look in his eyes seemed to have an impact on Sam. He knew how Barney felt. Doomed. Doomed, but somehow still safe. "Thank you," Barney stated as he smiled slightly. "You set us free." With that, he set up a portal and pushed Sam through it before he could say another word.

Sam rolled on the cold, hard cement and hit a wall. He groaned and heard Dean and Angel come into contact with the ground as well. A headache began to form in Sam's head; his lungs hurt from inhaling the smoke from the fire. He rolled over to see Angel in the fetal position, eyes shut as she clutched her legs to her chest. She opened her eyes after a few moments and cried out in pure joy.

Dean set his forehead against the floor and almost kissed it. Tears streamed down his face and continued without a pause. He whispered silent prayers to himself as his chest heaved to get some air into his lungs. "Is that ghost dead? Because I will kill it a third time if I'm able to."

Sam stated quietly, "It's over."

The car ride back home was the quietest they had been around each other in their lives. No music poured out from the speakers of the Impala and no one spoke. All three of them kept their eyes focused on something else, not attempting to glance at one another. The emotional trauma swept through the car in waves, almost breaking their mentalities. All they had to do was stay together and not fall apart.

Angel opened the door to the house and her jaw hit the floor. Her eyes widened at the sight and took two steps inside so the boys could see the monstrosity in front of them. A mountain of candy wrappers was piled in the center of the room and maniacal laughter emanated off of the walls; the lamp was on the floor and the table was flipped over; picture frames were cracked; one of the couch cushions was resting on top of the ceiling fan. Alice was gobbling every piece of candy she could up. Her red hair was messy and in a bun with pieces of sticky candy in it. Her blue eyes were filled with so much energy that her irises almost looked white. Gabriel was bouncing off of the walls with his wings out and set up as a show for the world to see. He was the one who was laughing and couldn't stop. Cas sat cross-legged on the floor against the wall, watching his shaking hands and asked, "Dean, why are my hands shaking so terribly? Why do I feel so tingly? I can't control my heart rate!"

Dean and Angel yelled simultaneously, "Damn it, Cas, we left you in charge!" They both glared at each other and growled underneath their breaths.

Dean started scolding the trio. "You could have picked anything, literally, anything better to do with the time you had. Instead, you chose to eat nearly a hundred pounds of candy." He stopped and thought about it for a second. Dean smirked slightly and turned to Angel and Sam, "Actually, I would've done the same if given the chance."

Sam rolled his eyes and asked, "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know what to do," Dean admitted. He leaned up against the wall and took in the scene.

"I know how to calm them down." Angel snatched the last piece of candy from Alice's clammy hands. Alice glared at her with such an intensity that it would have fried Angel if she had heat vision. Alice's eye twitched and she jumped up quickly to reach for it. Angel stood up on the couch and stated, "Guys, I have the last piece of candy." All the attention was on her and the room fell silent. Gabriel fell to the floor and picked himself up, ready to dive for it. Castiel got up from his spot and slowly made his way over to the group. Their eyes looked deprived of sugar, even though they were all on a high. It was like they were sugar addicts and needed another fix. Angel threw it into the air and all three dove for it. All that could be heard was them yelling, "Mine!" They were like the pigeons in the movie _Finding Nemo_.

In the first ten seconds, Castiel knocked Alice out when he reached for the candy in her hands. He halted and a shocked look rose on his face. "Oh my father, I'm so sorry!" Gabriel seized the opportunity and punched Cas, rendering him unconscious. He yanked the lollipop out of his hands, took the wrapper off, and sucked on it contently on the couch.

Angel chuckled, "See? They took matters into their own hands." Sam and Dean nodded in unison an walked upstairs to their rooms. Angel knew what had happened impacted all three of them. All they needed was time to cool down.

A few days had passed since the incident. Gabriel stood at the front door as everyone gathered around him. "We're really gonna miss you," Dean stated as he hugged him.

Gabriel exhaled in content, "I know, Deano, I'm the life of the party you guys have going on here."

Castiel scoffed and questioned, "Where are you going to go now?"

Gabriel's eyes wandered around the room on purpose before he focused on his baby brother. "I, uh, have a kid that lives around here. I was going to go see him for the first time, but chickened out and came here after I noticed you were here."

"You? Chicken out? That certainly isn't a first," Sam rolled his eyes, referring to the past.

"I'm not liking the sarcasm in your voice, Mr. Winchester," Gabriel remarked. He stood up straighter and adjusted his outfit nervously. "The boy is troubled, which is partly why I'm visiting him. I'm going to lead him down the path of righteousness and make things right."

Sam thought of the first time him and Dean met Adam. Adam was a good kid, someone who their father tried to do right with. If Gabriel's kid was anything like Adam, Sam sure as hell wanted him to go down a good path. A path that Adam never had the chance to have. Now, Adam was in hell with no way out, locked in a cage with Lucifer and his brother Michael. "Take care, Gabriel," Sam stated as he hugged him.

"I will." He looked over at the Montgomery sisters and smirked widely. "Now I need a hug from my two new favorite girls!" Both hesitated before going over to hug him simultaneously. He pulled them in tightly, knocking the breath out of both of them. Castiel shot daggers at Gabriel with his eyes as his hand trailed farther and farther down Alice's back. Alice figured out what he was doing and backed away. She grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. Gabriel chuckled to himself, "Damn. I tried." He left soon after, leaving all of them to their own thoughts.


	22. Chapter 22

Everything was dark. Sam couldn't see anything, almost as if he was blind. He blinked, which meant his eyes were open. He could hear someone moving in front of him.

"Sammy, please don't do this. You can end this all." Angel inhaled sharply before adding, "We're going to die out here! This is a suicide mission that's already halfway over."

Sam grunted as he stepped forward, "I'm going to finish it." He couldn't control his actions. Sam's mind raced with thoughts and he began to panic. _What's going on? Where am I? Why is she saying that?_

Angel shrieked, "No!"

Sam got his eyesight back and gasped at what he saw. Angel's blue eyes were staring back at him as her mouth hung open. Sam's heart stopped. He forced his hazel eyes to look down, which was something he immediately regretted. He took the blade out of her stomach and gawked at how much blood there was. His hand dropped the blade immediately and backed away. _How did this happen? What's going on?_ Sam thought as he watched Angel fall to the floor.

"Angel!" Dean screamed.

Sam shot up in his bed, pushing his hair out of his face. He wiped the sweat off his skin and sat there with his head in his hands. "Angel," he whispered. When silence greeted him, he reached his hand out to wake her up.

She wasn't there.

Sam's heart jumpstarted and he immediately glanced at the ceiling. Nothing was there, so he sighed in relief. It was the most ridiculous thought he ever had, since Azazel was dead and nothing would have a purpose to kill Angel in such a manner. Christmas music began to swim into his ears. Sam got out of bed and walked down the stairs. The Christmas tree in the living room came to life with colorful, twinkling lights. A duet erupted from the kitchen, louder than the stereo itself. A delicious aroma of different foods met his nose and greeted his stomach. Sam sprinted into the kitchen and picked up Angel. He hugged her tightly, wrapping his arms around her waist. Before she could say anything, Sam kissed her passionately. He made a trail from her lips, cheek, and down to her neck with kisses.

Overwhelmed, Angel questioned, "Sammy, are you alright? What happened?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I'm just glad you're here," he set her down on the floor and gazed into her ocean blue eyes.

Angel raised an eyebrow, but settled down quickly. She set her hands on his face and grinned. "Merry Christmas, Sam Winchester."

"Alright, break up the love scene or I'm kicking you both out of the kitchen!" Alice yelled at them as she took the plates out of the cabinet.

Angel scoffed and nudged her out of the kitchen, "I'm the one cooking breakfast!"

The pitter patter of feet could be heard coming from the stairs and Alice's attention caught onto it. She caught Castiel rushing to the presents underneath the tree. "Hey! No one gets to open presents yet!" She exclaimed. She glared at him as he shook one of his presents; once he saw what she was doing, he gently put it back and pouted. He walked to the dining room table before Alice stopped him underneath the archway. She fluffed his hair and smiled. "Cheer up. Your smile brightens up the room."

Cas wanted to say something, but the mistletoe above them caught his eye. "You know, I don't understand the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. It's pointless. You can kiss everywhere else. What makes this little bunch of leaves so special?" He scoffed before adding, "Who invented the tradition anyway, and why would they start it? Did they have the intention of scoring…"

Alice kissed him gently on the lips, which fully caught his attention. She gazed into his deep blue eyes and stated, "It's Christmas, Cas. Just relax. Enjoy the time we have with each other. We don't know when all of that will spiral downhill."

Castiel lifted the corners of his mouth slightly, "Merry Christmas, Alice."

Dean trudged down the stairs and yawned. "What's going on down here? Why is everyone awake at six in the morning?"

"It's Christmas, Dean. People get up early on Christmas," Angel declared as she put the food on the table.

He was taken aback and frowned, "It's still dark outside."

"That's not the point, Dean." Alice stated cheerfully.

Dean grumbled something to himself before any of them could hear. Celebrating Christmas was never a Winchester tradition. Why should they start now, of all times? Because the girls were here? They were changing their lives more than he ever thought. They were all trying new things, new foods, new ways of hunting, even teaching them how to relax and enjoy the little things in life. It was hard to think that only five years ago, they were complete strangers, wandering through the states like chickens with their heads cut off. God…he couldn't remember the last time he celebrated Christmas with his family. He's traded small gifts with Sammy and drank beer in front of the television every Christmas. It was simplistic and quiet. None of this loud music, breakfast feast he had laid out in front of him right now. As he thought more into it, though, he started liking the idea of trying something new for once. Joining in with this new family has been an adventure for sure, but maybe it wasn't as bad as he originally thought.

They sat around the dining room table, listening to holiday music erupting from the stereo speakers. The food on the table made everyone's mouths water at the very sight. Tamales, bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, ham, hash browns and more were set up nicely in the middle of the table. The scratching of plates was the only other audible noise in the room, which created an awkward tension.

Angel had to start a conversation or she'd be driven mad. "So, here's a funny story. A few years ago on Christmas, Alice gave me a bag of Doritos and a card that looked like it was drawn by a two year old. I looked in the bag of Doritos and it was empty."

Sam was already laughing before she could finish the story. "That sounds like something Dean would do."

Dean looked up from his delicious meal and scowled at Sam with sarcasm, "It'd be filled with love."

"That's what I said!" Alice exclaimed, raising her fork at Dean.

Angel rolled her eyes. "You said it came from the heart. I said yeah, the heart of your stomach." She took another bite out of her tamale and continued, "I stole an expensive bracelet for her, and all she got me was an empty bag and a lousy card. She could literally make anything on the freakin' planet, and that's what she gets me. So, I kept the bracelet."

"Yeah, I keep trying to take away the bracelet, but she would probably murder me," Alice made a sour face.

"You eat your food like Dean does," Cas stated. He was so quiet and subtle that Angel almost didn't hear it.

She looked up to meet his blue eyes. His face was straight and he slightly chuckled at the resemblance. "If you mean eating attractively, then you're correct," Angel declared with a smile. Dean chuckled and nodded his head as he chewed his food.

"No, he means you talk with your mouth full," Alice said in a flat voice. She didn't dare glance up at Angel to see her reaction. She knew she might regret it.

Dean scoffed in shock, "What? We don't do that."

Sam laughed and gave his brother the Are-You-Kidding-Face. He had to set his fork down before he ended up dropping it from laughing so much. "You guys always talk with your mouth full."

"No we don't," Dean and Angel stated at the same time. They glared at one another before going back to eating their food. They hated when they did things like that. It was as if they were in sync.

"Anyways," Sam began before he started playing with his food, "remember when I gave you that amulet for Christmas, Dean?"

"The one I threw away?" Dean questioned sternly. He looked at Sam in the eyes, waiting to see him flinch or react in a certain way.

Sam's face fell and he scratched his fork against his plate, "Yeah, that one."

"Why?"

Sam shrugged. "Do you miss it at all?"

He adjusted his jaw, "I don't need something to prove our close relationship. If I thought I was going to miss it, I wouldn't have thrown it away."

"He misses it," Castiel stated as he finished his food. His blue eyes glimpsed around the table before he got up and put his and Alice's dishes in the dishwasher. A thick tension settled in and put Dean at a stance. He was caught off guard, but wouldn't let anyone else see it. Everyone was quiet as they finished up and put the dishes in the dishwasher to be cleaned later.

All five of them settled in the living room in a calm anticipation. Castiel sat down on the couch and saved a spot for Alice. Dean sat in the single chair next to the television, which had a fireplace cackling on the screen. Angel and Sam sat down on the love seat as Sam wrapped his arm around Angel's shoulder. Alice handed out the presents, put the wrapped gifts in tiny piles next to the owner, and sat down when she was ready. There was one present in each pile that was from the whole group, and another present from one single person. In all, they had two gifts each. She smiled giddily and nearly jumped up and down. "Who's going to open their presents first?"

"I think you should. You're so excited," Dean gestured with a show of his hand. He leaned against the back of the chair and watched her face light up even more, if that was possible.

"Alright!" Alice exclaimed and tore apart the red wrapping paper on one of her presents. Her eyes widened as she opened a long box with a diamond necklace in it. "Oh my god, Cas…"

"I heard females like this sort of thing, so I decided to get you one." He grinned to see her sheer excitement and looked at her adoringly.

"It's beautiful," she whispered as she hugged him tightly. She backed away after kissing him on the cheek softly and grabbed the last present she had. She ripped off the wrapping paper out of impatience. "No way," she stated as she opened the box to a new expensive phone. The light in her eyes dimmed as she saw a smaller package inside. "Really?" Alice pulled out a small gift card. "Fifty dollars to go get shawarma?" She raised an eyebrow and gave everyone a dead look. "What happened to the rest of the money I gave you?"

Angel shrugged uneasily and her voice wavered, "I don't know."

"Of course. I give you guys more than a thousand dollars and this is how you repay me," Alice rolled her eyes. "Cas, you're up."

Castiel snatched up the first present he saw. His mouth formed an O as he pulled out a black suit from the package. "It's a new suit!"

Dean scoffed and laughed slightly, "What's the difference between that and the one you have now?"

Alice laughed out loud, "The tie is a darker blue."

"I love it. Thank you," Cas pecked her on the cheek and continued to open his last present. An IPod sat in his hands. "What is this?"

"It's an IPod. You can play all the games you want and listen to some great music that I chose out," Dean answered with a smirk on his face. His eyes were bright and waited for Castiel's approval.

Cas' lips formed a small grin and looked at Dean. "That sounds great."

"Hey, we get some credit too. I'm the one that put the songs on there in the first place," Sam added, offended that Dean was taking the credit.

Dean huffed, "It's from all of us." He put up his hand so Angel and Sam couldn't see what he was mouthing to Cas, "It's mainly from me."

"Alright, calm down. Sam, open your presents," Alice commanded as she pointed at him.

"Gosh, so bossy," he remarked and chuckled. He reached for the big present before Angel smacked his hand. "What was that for?"

She handed him the tall present, "Open my present before it gets overshadowed by the one from all of us." Angel set the present in his lap before he could say anything and put her full attention on him. Her blue eyes widened before he opened the present, "Oh, and this is my way of saying you look good in these. All the ones you have now seem to get ruined one way or another."

Sam furrowed his brow and took off the wrapping paper. He found six plaid shirts of all different colors in a neat stack on his lap. He laughed before looking at her with his glistening hazel eyes, "You really like me in plaid?"

"It'd be a sin if I didn't…" she trailed off with a smile. "I got you more of these because everyone thought my idea of a present was better as a group present." Angel relaxed in the loveseat and played with Sam's hair.

"Oh, whatever," Alice rolled her eyes. "You only got him that because he has everything he needs."

"No…"

Dean cut everyone off, "No fighting, alright? It's Christmas."

Cas cocked his head in confusion, "I don't understand why we celebrate Christmas anyway. Jesus wasn't born in December, he was born sometime in the summer. I would know, I watched him being born. He's not a demigod. He's a whole human being…"

Sam cut him off, "For the purpose of not getting into an hour long conversation over religion, we should finish the presents." Everyone settled down as he grabbed his last box. He shook the present, which made Angel tense up. He noticed her tension, and stopped. "Guessing it's breakable by your reaction." Sam released it from its closed position and his eyes widened. "A new laptop?"

Angel squeaked in glee, "With built in WiFi!" She put her hand up to her mouth in shock. She had never squeaked before over some little excitement.

"That squeak was really cute," Sam grinned as he kissed her. He blushed a little and sat back as he enjoyed what he had in front of him. A joyous family celebrating a holiday without a care or worry that they were going to get killed or end up in a terrible mood. They were safe in a cozy home that satisfied all of their needs. That was all Sam ever wanted for his beloved family. Sam set his eyes back on Angel after taking in the scene. "Your turn."

Angel was nervous. She didn't know why. Her hands shook as she grabbed the first present. Everything was so real. They were all in a home, enjoying Christmas like any other family. The box was long and thin, which led to the conclusion it was an article of clothing. A new black leather jacket sat in the pretty white box. Her face lit up with joy. "Yes! My old one is _so_ ruined."

"We didn't know what else to get you. You're very picky like Dean is," Castiel stated as he looked over both of them. Cas shut his mouth after that and sunk back into his seat.

Dean and Angel looked at each other and huffed. They knew they couldn't escape being alike. The smug look on Dean's face made Angel grin as she reached for the last present. It was a small square box, about the size of the palm of her hand. A small, gray metal sphere sat inside of the box. Angel furrowed her brow and asked, "What is it?"

"Let me show you," Sam offered and took it out of the box. He put it on the table in the middle of the room and turned on the projector. The light flashed out of the top and scattered all over the room. Stars covered the room and slowly spun around, as if all five of them were in the middle of the universe. Angel gasped in bewilderment. Sam explained, "You can control wherever you want to go in space." He moved his hand across the light and the focus was moved to the planet Saturn. The big planet hung above them all in all its glory. Oranges, browns, and yellows were colors all of them could see very clearly in the planet and its rings.

Angel's mouth hung open as she covered it with her hands, "Oh my god, Sam, this is beautiful…"

"I wanted the best for you. I know times have been hard, but I want you to know that I love you." His hazel eyes fixated on her face, admiring the view he had of her. "You shine brighter than any star in the galaxy." Angel sat there in shock. She was never the victim of these love scenarios. She was always the one saying them. Sam proved to her that it could be easily flipped around.

Alice made a hacking sound, "Gag me with a fork!"

"Shut up, it's beautiful," Angel snapped.

Sam turned the projector off and handed it to Angel after he kissed her. He wrapped his arm around her once more and smirked at Dean. "Your turn, Dean."

Dean sighed and proceeded with the opening of his first present. "Beer?" He questioned as he held up the six pack.

"The finest pack of beer ever made," Alice corrected him.

Dean set it on the table and raised one of his eyebrows. His green eyes flickered around the room before asking, "This is it? Sammy gets a laptop with built in WiFi and I get a pack of beer?"

"The finest pack of beer ever made," Castiel corrected him once more.

Dean peered at everyone skeptically. Angel felt bad for Dean and gave in. "There's a lifetime supply of beer in the basement waiting for you."

Dean's eyes lit up at the sound of it and he grinned, "Now we're talkin'." He leaned forward and thought about it for a moment before reaching for his last present.

"So, Alice had a present for you, but we burned it," Sam stated bluntly.

Dean cocked his head slightly before giving a questioning glance in Alice's direction. "What was it?"

Alice couldn't contain her laughter as she tried explaining it to him. She kept doubling over in laughter and choked on the words. "It was a hat shaped like an ass. An ass-hat for an ass-hat."

All five of them laughed whole heartedly at the joke. Dean called Alice an ass-hat once, and she said it back, which was a little nickname game they had. Angel leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees. "Definitely a good time burning it. There was a malfunction, and it just got so bad."

Once they all calmed down, Dean opened his last gift. The small wrapping paper didn't give Dean any hints to what the gift was. Sam tensed up and waited in anticipation. Dean stopped once he saw what the gift was and stared at it for a few moments. His hand trembled as he picked it up. He held up a necklace and he looked at Sam with a deep sadness in his eyes.

"I kept the amulet and waited for the right time to give it back to you," Sam explained in a quiet tone. He was nervous on how Dean would react. Sam didn't know if he could make it seeing his older brother throw it away again. He rubbed his hands together and waited for Dean to reply. Tears ran down Dean's face because he couldn't hold it in any longer. He let out full sobs and hunched over in an effort to cover his face.

Angel was instantly hurt by his action, "Why are you crying?"

Dean sobbed, "I kinda missed this thing." He wiped away his tears and sat up. His green eyes were now bloodshot and he sniffled quietly. After putting on the amulet, he went on explaining himself. "This is also Sammy's first real Christmas. We've been on the run for so long following our dad that he never got a real Christmas like this. I'm just so grateful he gets to have this experience with everyone he loves." He sniffled again and glanced at Angel and Sam. "I get a Christmas too because I don't really remember having one from when I was little. Sure, I had some, but I sure as hell don't remember."

"Dean…" Sam whispered. Angel grabbed Sam's hand and helped him up. They went in for a group hug, which Alice and Castiel happily joined in on. All of them stood there in the middle of the living room, hugging each other tightly and hearing the rest of them complain. They all secretly loved it. They were a family.

"Hey, Dean, you'll never guess what I found," Sam declared with a slight chuckle. He sat on the couch with his new laptop in his lap and glanced up at Dean.

Dean plopped down next to him on the couch and glued his eyes to the screen. He squinted for a few seconds before he realized what he was reading. "I sometimes forget that we have an entire fan base that revolves around us because of Chuck."

Sam scrolled through the fan pages and came across a song. "No way. They're even making spoofs of songs about our lives." Sam raised both of his eyebrows and his eyes glazed over the screen.

Angel came up from behind the couch and peered over Sam's shoulder. Her hair fell onto his shoulder and her shiny blue eyes scanned the screen. "Oh, Christmas carols!"

"Yeah, about the lives of the Winchesters in the book series that's ever so popular," Sam scoffed.

Dean focused on the screen and turned to Angel. He put on an adorable face and said, "Since we don't know the tune to these songs, you should sing them for us."

Angel scrunched her nose. "I know for a fact that you guys know the tunes to these songs."

"I think Dean and I agree that we want to hear you sing." Sam looked up at her; his lips brushed her jaw, which made shivers run down her spine.

She hated how many emotions he could make her feel all in one second. That's also what she loved so much about him. Angel constantly flirted with guys before she met Sam. She was always the one making the moves. A change of pace definitely was a new experience for her. "Alice, come here!"

Alice walked into the room and sulked, "What?"

"Sing this with me," she held out her hand and pulled her little sister close. They both cleared their throats as the three boys got into a good position to see them. Alice and Angel glanced at each other nervously before starting the first word.

"Jingle bells, still in hell, do you even caaare? Your angel Cas can kiss my ass! My life is so unfaaair!" They sang. Dean and Sam burst into laughter upon realizing it was about their half-brother Adam.

"Adam doesn't have to be such an assbutt about things," Cas huffed out loud.

Angel giggled before she sang with Alice again. "Hey, dashing through the snow…Oh, wait, I'm still in hell. You two are assholes! Hey, what's that yummy smell? Burning flesh…"

Dean wiped a tear away. His leaf green eyes glistened in the dim light of the living room. His face, red from laughter, started showing his laugh lines as he calmed down from his full body laughter. "I always feel bad that we left Adam in Hell with Lucifer and Michael."

Angel grimaced, "I think your half brother really doesn't like you. He didn't write these, but I'm sure this is exactly what he would say."

Castiel dragged his hands down his tired face. He yawned before speaking, "There's no way we can get him out of there without also taking a piece of Lucifer. I might have been able to get Sam and his soul out, but it was really difficult. I don't have that kind of power anymore."

"It's alright, Cas. We'll just find some other way to get him out of there. Even if we do, he'll hate us forever for leaving him down there in the first place," Sam explained.

"There's one more. Sing this one!" Dean exclaimed in a cheery voice.

Angel looked at him curiously and agreed to. Her and Alice sung simultaneously. "Deck the halls with salt and hunters, Impalalalalalalalala! Tis the season to wear jumpers, Impalalalalalalalala! Don we now our plaid and shotgun, Impalalalalalalalala! Join me now and we'll have more fun, Impalalalalalalalala! See the blazing salted grave, Impalalalalalalalala! The family business is to save, Impalalalalalalalala! Sexy cars and fallen angels, Impalalalalalalalala! What the fuck nothing rhymes with angel, Impalalalalalalalala lalalalalalalala!" Everyone broke out into laughter over the last line and doubled over in sheer enjoyment. It took a few minutes for everyone to compose themselves again.

"That was the best singing I've ever heard. Now, what else do we do on Christmas?" Sam closed his laptop and set it on the table. Everyone chipped in ideas and enjoyed the rest of their Christmas day.


	23. Chapter 23

_Hey, I hope all of you had wonderful winter holidays! Please don't forget to comment on here. I'd love to hear some feedback. Thank you._

Alice groaned as Dean went on and on about some movie. She threw herself on one of the chairs in the living room in agony. Her head pounded and she draped her arm over her eyes in a dramatic way. She couldn't believe that Angel stuck her with Dean while they went off on a run to see if anything not natural was happening in the city. He was driving her crazy. "Will you please stop talking about that horrible movie?"

Dean leaned and dragged his hands down his face. He gave Alice a dead gaze and said sternly, "_Psycho_ is a classic. It isn't a horrible movie, you just have horrible tastes."

"Horrible taste? I just wasn't born three hundred years ago."

Dean's eyes lit up at the sound of her poor argument. "Three hundred years ago? It was released in 1960. It's not that old."

"I don't know how you can consider it a classic," she set her arm on the arm of the chair and sat up. She rubbed her temples and almost wanted to tackle him and fight him physically instead of verbally. Alice wanted to do anything to shut him up. Dean grinned and went on explaining the concept to her. Someone came up from behind them and sat down on the couch. Alice and Dean turned to the person so quick that they almost got whiplash.

Gabriel relaxed on the couch with a beer in his hand. He turned on the television and flipped through the channels.

"Excuse me? How did you get in here?" Alice questioned.

He took a sip of the drink, "Back door was unlocked."

Alice turned her head slowly and glared at Dean in a creepy way. He was supposed to lock it. Dean glanced around and fixed his gaze on the glass bottle. "Hey, that's my beer!"

"Don't you know how to share, Deano?" Gabriel questioned. He set the remote down and enjoyed watching _Dr. Sexy_.

Alice shook her head like a dog to wash away the massive headache. "I thought you were visiting your son. What happened?"

Gabriel chuckled and scratched the back of his head. His voice deepened as he fidgeted in his seat, "So, uh, about that…My son is batshit crazy…"

Alice cocked her head. "Batshit crazy? Like…batshit crazy?" -She flailed her arms in a flying stance like a bat- "Or, batshit crazy?" Alice put her finger near her head and made a circular motion, referring to a mental state.

"Try all of the above," he scoffed. He turned the volume down on the television and glanced at the both of them. "I'm going to need your help."

"Our help?" Sam asked into the phone. Dean had just informed them of the dire situation at hand. "How does he expect us to deal with this?"

"Gee, I don't know…Come on, Sammy! Think with your head!" Dean practically yelled back. He exhaled loudly in frustration.

"Maybe we should all meet up at the house before we decide anything," Castiel offered.

Angel glanced at both of them as she handed Sam the keys to the Impala. "Why can't Gabriel take care of this? The kid is his son, after all."

"Yeah, and the kid wants to set Lucifer free from his cage. Gabriel can totally take care of that by himself," Alice remarked sarcastically.

Sam rolled his eyes and started the car. The engine roared to life and calmed down to a soft purr. "He's an archangel and a trickster. He has more power than any of us combined." Sam paused before adding, "If he needs our help, then fine. He just needs to make sure we're all alive by the end of the battle."

"I'll go find out if any of the other angels know about this," Cas muttered and disappeared from the backseat in an instant.

"Wait, Cas-" Angel uttered as she turned around. When she realized he was already gone, she put her forehead against the seat. "We'll be at the house in five minutes." She hung up the phone before Dean could say anything else. "So, what does Gabriel expect us to do? Kill him?" She turned fully to Sam and leaned against the door. Her stomach churned at the thought of killing a child. It didn't matter if he was a teenager or not, he was still a child. Angel knew how it felt to kill one…

Sam sighed and tapped his fingers against the steering wheel impatiently. He hesitated and responded, "I hope not." Angel fidgeted around in her seat uncomfortably and didn't want to look straight at him. Memories started to flow back into her mind and brought back all of the emotions she had locked away for years. Sam noticed her sudden agitation and wondered, "What's up?"

"Nothing…" Angel trailed off. She didn't want to bring him into it. He didn't deserve it, and didn't deserve to go through the pain of knowing. She wasn't even sure if Alice still remembered what happened. She was disoriented at the time of the incident, so chances were she didn't remember. It still haunted Angel to this day, but she kept to herself about it. She bottled it up inside. Anything else couldn't be done. Shouldn't be done. Why would it be done? She duct-taped her crumbling heart back together and turned away.

"Hey," he grabbed her hand lightly and squeezed it. "You can tell me."

Angel knew she shouldn't. She was afraid of him leaving her because of it. Stable relationships were not her forte, but she wanted to keep Sam in her life. "I…came across this terrible scenario quite a few years ago…We were on a hunt with our mother. She was fighting with one of the men and Alice and I were trying to find something in the back room. A little girl came out of nowhere and tried to stab Alice, and I reacted and shot her clean in the head. By the time I realized what I had done, my mother came in and looked me dead in the eye. 'Tell me you had to do this. Tell me you were defending your sister.' She said to me. I nodded in shock." Angel was hysterical and her breathing was erratic. Her heart was pounding like the day it happened. "She was the first and only kid I've killed. She could have been innocent. She could have been defending herself. She could have…"

Sam cut in after he parked the car, "She was aiming for Alice. Dean would have done the same for me. You aren't at fault here." He set his hands on her face to make her look directly at him. He peered lovingly into her eyes and moved his thumb in a circular motion on her cheek. "It'll be okay. We won't kill Gabriel's child."

Angel nodded wearily and calmed herself. "I just think if Alice remembered what I did, she wouldn't talk to me for days. She loves kids so much and she's so golden hearted…" She opened her door to get out and walked with Sam up to the house. "I just hope we get this situated and over quickly…"

"I'm sure we will. We only ever come up with one plan," Sam answered as he opened the door for her.

Dean called from the living room, "We already have a plan, give me the keys." He was lying on the couch eating a small of bag of chips, munching wildly.

"What's the plan?" Sam asked curiously. He sat down on the empty chair as he threw the keys to his brother.

"We find Gabriel's kid and we take him out," Alice stated bluntly. She was sharpening one of her knives with her head down. She glanced up at Angel with a dull look in her eye.

Angel was taken aback by her statement and propped herself up using the chair Sam sat on. "What? Take him out…like kill him?" She wouldn't let herself believe the fact that her sister just said they're going to kill a child. Raising hell on earth or not, he still was a child they'd be killing with their bare hands.

Alice twisted her face in confusion, "I'm totally going to take him out on a date." She shot her sister a look before speaking again, "Take him out. Boom, out'a here. Exterminate. Kill him. Get the gist?"

"You can't just go in and expect us to kill that kid," Sam argued. He leaned forward in his chair and slouched. He aimed his statement towards Dean, for it was easier to persuade him.

Dean set the empty bag on the table and licked his fingers as he talked, "What? Sammy, we have to do what we have to do."

"We're talking about murdering a child here!" Sam exclaimed in a frustrated tone.

"Yeah, I know."

"We can't do this. There has to be another way. Maybe he was just misguided. Maybe someone brainwashed him into thinking it was the right thing to do!" Angel exhaled loudly and glared at Alice. She had to lay something else down on the table, or they'd take the easy way out.

"What? Has being with Sam Winchester softened you and your thinking? What happened to the head-on Angel I grew up with? You would be up for killing this kid if it wasn't for Sam," Alice blurted out.

Angel took a few steps toward her, but Sam held her back. She screamed out in pure self-hatred, "You don't remember! How dare you think it's only because of Sam! I saved you! I saved you from her! And here you are, alive and breathing because of me. You're telling me we have to kill this boy when I swore I would never kill another child."

Everyone simmered down and soaked in the words that were just spoken. Alice's eyes widened at the thought of it. She paled and stopped sharpening her knives. Dean looked straight into her eyes to see if she was lying, but when he knew she wasn't, he tensed up. The thought of killing a child suddenly became a reality. Sure, it was in words before, but it actually coming true felt way worse than they imagined. Something snapped in Angel's mind, something that's never happened before, almost like a small twig snapping in two. Angel knew what she had to do. There was no changing their minds. Sure, she had killed a child before and swore to herself she'd never do it again, but this was under a different circumstance. Alice helped her realize that. Lucifer would destroy the world. This was their only chance. Her heart managed to turn to stone in a matter of seconds. She eased up and her face became a blank slate. She held herself up high and looked all of them straight in the eyes. Angel turned and walked away as she stated, "I'll meet you in the car. We need to kill him before Lucifer rises."

Dean glanced around awkwardly and set his eyes on Gabriel. In a matter only to change the tense subject, he asked, "You comin'?"

"To fight my son?" Gabriel's eyebrows raised and scoffed, "Hell no. I don't want to see Luci after what happened last time. He killed me, you know. Well, not me, but that vision of me I made." He chuckled at the thought silently and cleared his throat. "I'll meet you there. I need another beer."

Dean rolled his eyes as he shot him a disgusted look. He turned to Sam and exchanged an expression with him before walking out. Sam and Alice relaxed for a second to gather their thoughts and went to the Impala.


	24. Chapter 24

Angel and Alice sat awkwardly in the back seat while Dean and Sam occupied the front. The thick tension in the car was definitely unsettling, but the music flowing from the speakers of the radio. Angel set her eyes on the nature outside, while Alice couldn't stop gawking at her sister. It didn't click in her mind. She couldn't remember what Angel had told them. It was justified in Angel's eyes to kill the girl, but was it justified in everyone else's eyes? To kill a child? Maybe Alice viewed it in the wrong perspective. She did it to protect her little sister. Alice could be seriously injured or dead if that girl had succeeded. A sudden flood of emotions flowed through Alice, but she contained them all to not create another scene.

There was a knock at Dean's window, which made everyone's attention flicker to it. Castiel flew beside the car and grinned at Dean, "Hey, hey Dean." In the next few seconds, he wasn't watching where he was going and hit a light poll.

Alice freaked out and gasped. Dean cursed to himself. He shook his head and rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Cas! God dammit." He kept speeding down the road on the way to the grassy fields outside of town. Dean checked the rearview mirror nervously and turned down the radio. "Do you see him?"

"No," Alice panicked. She was constantly looking in every direction in an attempt to see if Cas popped up anywhere. "You think he's hurt?"

"Dean, slow down!" Castiel yelled from above the car. Alice stuck her head out of Baby and saw Cas clinging onto the car for dear life. His tan trench coat flapped against him in the wind. "The speed limit says forty, not seventy!"

"Dean, stop the car!" Alice yelped. She didn't want Cas to get hurt.

Dean tensed up, "It's almost the end of the world. We don't have time to stop."

Castiel rolled onto the windshield and the hood of Baby, which made Dean almost swerve. Cas disappeared and reappeared in the car sandwiched between Sam and Dean. Dean gained control of Baby and glared at Cas for a second. The thought of crashing swam through his mind, and that was something he didn't want to think about. He's already lost Baby twice, he didn't want to lose her again.

Sam turned to Cas in the slightest and lifted one of the corners of his mouth, "You feelin' okay, Cas?"

Castiel nodded and relaxed against the seat. "Yeah Sam, why do you ask?"

"Did you find another liquor store and drink it?" Sam questioned. A small chuckle escaped from his lips as he propped up his arm against the door.

Cas huffed, "Pffft, no, of course not." He set his bright blue eyes on the road ahead of him. "I don't have time for that right now."

Angel scrunched up her nose at the thought, "A whole liquor store?"

"And you drank it all?" Alice added onto her sister's last comment. She turned to her boyfriend and raised an eyebrow. Her curiosity peaked. She knew he was an angel, but drinking a whole liquor store? Is that what it really took to get him truly drunk? Alice contemplated.

Castiel nodded sharply and stated, "It was pretty eventful."

"Everyone shut your pie holes. We got work to do." Dean jerked the keys out of the ignition and shoved them into his pocket. They were at the scene of the event of the season.

"Dean, are you sure this is a great idea?" Sam questioned as he got a dagger from the trunk. "We're just going to march in there with no idea of how many of them there are and just take care of them? What if we don't have the supplies to do so?"

"It's the only plan we ever have. Go in there and kill some sons of bitches." Dean pointed to Castiel, who was sharpening the angel blade he caressed in his hands. "He's got the best weapon we have. I have another one in here somewhere…" He began to scrounge through the trunk as Angel leaned against the Impala.

"So, what are we dealing with here?" Angel didn't know exactly what they were up against, or how to even exterminate them. She grazed her right hand along the Impala's paint job as she used her left hand to prop herself up against the car.

Sam put the dagger in his pocket. He scrambled around to find the perfect gun as he spoke, "Nephilim: half angel, half human beings. I don't think we can kill them easily. We might just have to use the angel blade that Cas has." He bit his lip and shook his head. Dark thoughts tugged at his brain. "It's the only way to kill them and it's the only thing we got."

"I can just make another one," Alice offered. Her voice shook and had slight hope.

"I'm sure it won't work. These are made in a special way and blessed by God himself," Castiel answered in almost a whisper. "You can probably make one, but it won't have the same properties…"

Alice swayed to the side slowly and put her hand on her other arm. She tensed up and hesitantly asked, "How many do you think there are?" A lot of ideas clouded her mind; she wasn't liking any of them.

"I've heard that a few rouge angels have joined Peter's group. I'm not sure how many of them there are, but there's got to be a small army in there," Castiel stated in despair. His blue eyes drooped and the corners of his mouth sagged. The stubble on his face shadowed him more than it should have. The expression on his face screamed hopeless, for he knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.

"Can't we just use an angel banishing sigil to get rid of them?" Sam questioned curiously. He raised an eyebrow and his hazel eyes set on Castiel.

"No…It's really unfortunate, but we're going to have to do this on our own. Even if you get rid of them, they won't be scrambled for long. They could just easily find each other and do the ritual somewhere else. Then what? We can't risk that," Cas stated and made a pained expression.

Angel chucked a shotgun at her sister and stated, "Aim for the head." Angel snatched the angel blade from the trunk before Dean could see it. She twirled it around and got used to the weight of it in her hand. "So…This is it. We're going down in a blaze and glory, right?"

Sam's eyes darkened and creases formed in his forehead. "No, don't say that. We've stopped the apocalypse twice already. We can do it again."

Dean turned to glare at Angel once he noticed she grabbed the blade and growled, "Who said you could use that?"

"No one. I took it upon myself to be in charge of this blade. Trust me, I know how to stab someone," Angel sarcastically said and began to back away from him slowly. The corners of her mouth lifted just a bit, trying to set a playful mood before their doom. "And I'm the one with a real plan here. So let me explain before you fight me over it."

Dean peeked around the corner into the giant room the enemy was in. They were in an abandoned furniture factory that had been cleared out years ago, but never demolished. It sat on the brim of the highway in the middle of nowhere. His grass green eyes glanced around in a steady panic in an attempt to keep his cool. All that crossed his mind was watching everyone he loved die. It was really throwing him off his game. Pick yourself up, Dean, you're a disgrace… A voice claimed in his head. He knew that voice too well. His father Dean Winchester's voice always played the devil on his shoulder, constantly putting him down every time he thought of something. If I fight with all of my strength, I won't need to see anyone die…I know it's going to hurt, but I like to think at least things can't get any worse. A different voice said. He almost smiled at the thought that someone who he saw as a father figure was the angel on his other shoulder. Bobby Singer, one of the best hunters and people he knew, loved him and Sam like his own children. Dean turned back to Sam and Alice and wiped his mouth with his hand in dismay. "There's ten of them there. Three surveying the area, and the rest in a big circle. Looks like Lucifer has a couple of fans that want to meet him."

"Too bad we're crashing the welcoming party," Alice groped the long silver blade she had in her hand. She used all her power to push Sam out into the open and whispered, "Go, moose, be free!"

Sam was caught off guard and practically lost his footing. He stumbled into the big room and caught himself. The enemy turned to him and eyed him. The big bodyguard built angels came to take him hostage. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. Sam thought quickly and stated, "Hey, uh, is this the welcoming party for Lucifer? I was his vessel and actually spent a few years in hell with him. I just came to say hey."

Some of them cocked their head and the Nephilim rolled their eyes. How could they believe someone that said that? That sounded insane. One of the angels narrowed their eyes and took a good look at him, "You're Sam Winchester." At the name, everyone turned back to him and immediately became hostile. Some started yelling curse words or gave him dirty looks. One Nephilim took out a knife and went to stab Sam in the heart.

Dean came out of nowhere and caught the man's arm. He furrowed his brow and declared, "Whoa there, didn't you hear him? He's Lucifer's vessel! What's wrong with you winged freaks?" He bent the man's arm back and used the knife to stab him. It didn't wound him, but it wounded his vessel.

Alice came out and created knives. She launched all of them at the higher beings, knowing that it wouldn't harm them a single bit. Two small semi-automatics were created out of thin air and she laughed as she sprayed at all of them with bullets. This gave Sam and Dean enough time to spread out on either side of the room and start attacking. Alice threw down a smoke grenade and dove in the shield of smoke, shooting bullets and slamming the gun over some of the enemies' heads.

Angel and Castiel ran through the wall using Angel's powers and stabbed the first enemies they saw with the angel blades. The victims' skin glowed and something like electricity surged through them before they fell to the floor. Angel glanced down after it happened and saw that their wings were burned into the floor, spanning over five feet in length in every direction. Her eyes flickered to Alice, who was laughing maniacally and stabbed angels with a sword as she jumped around.

A Nephilim girl jumped over some crates and pounced on Angel. The blade was knocked far away, so Angel used her powers to ghost through the girl. She pawed at the ground to get to the angel blade, but an angel grabbed her. Angel's blue eyes widened and she struggled to get free. This never happened before. She never knew something could actually grab her while she used her powers. The angel pushed her against the wall and put his hands around her throat. Pressure immediately settled in and her throat closed up, causing an air blockage. She choked and kicked the angel, but hell, they were stronger than she ever imagined.

Electricity ran through the angel and their skin glowed. They fell to the floor like a ragdoll and their wings were imprinted on the ground. Sam caught her and held her up as he peered into her eyes, "Are you alright?"

Angel nodded and caught her breath. She motioned for him to go on and grabbed the blade the angel had dropped. Now they had three daggers.

Dean flew and hit the wall, groaning as he hit the floor. He was drenched in his own blood that had ran from his nose after he was severely beaten. He wearily gazed up at the angel in front of him. "Son of a bitch," he whispered to himself.

The angel dropped within seconds and Alice appeared behind it. "I thought Dean Winchester usually saved the day," she remarked as she held her hand out to him.

He growled, but smirked a bit, and took her hand. He was pulled to his feet and looked around. Castiel had taken out another Nephilim. He and Sam danced around in a circle while in a stance to protect each other. Dean held onto the wall for support before he laid eyes on another Nephilim who was advancing toward him. Alice moved out of the way to go take care of the one circling around Cas. Dean leapt at the Nephilim, punching him on their way down. They rolled around on the ground before one of them had the upper hand. Dean snatched the nearest object, a pipe, and beat the Nephilim with it. The sound of the metal hitting its skull was intoxicating, and Dean kept swinging. He wouldn't let this guy get the upper hand and possibly kill his family.

One of the angels grabbed Alice and put an angel blade to her throat. Alice struggled, but halted when she realized it was too late. She was a hostage. Alice's chest rose and fell quickly; her heart pounded wildly against her chest. Her hands began to shake and thought that this was it. It was all over. This was how her life was going to end. Her blue eyes glanced from Angel to Dean. Dean screamed for Angel to throw him the blade she had in her hand, but if she did, the angel would slit Alice's throat.

Angel's heart stopped. "Let her go." She could hear the panic in Dean's voice, which broke her heart to witness.

The woman's eyes traced a trail from her to Dean, knowing Angel's intentions. "Put the blade down."

Angel hesitated and tensed up, but the woman wrapped her arm tighter around Alice and the blade skimmed Alice's throat. Angel flinched and set the blade down slowly. She could hear chanting in the background, along with Sam and Dean yelling at her. She couldn't make out the words, for she was too focused on Alice getting out alive. She was her guardian. If she let Alice die, then Angel would have failed her main mission in life. Failed at being a protective older sister. Failed at keeping her promise to her parents. They were already gone, and Alice wasn't going to join them anytime soon.

Castiel appeared behind the angel and pierced the weapon through her heart. His enraged expression was nearly frightening to Angel, since she had never seen him so mad before. She didn't hesitate to pick the blade back up and throw it to Dean. Dean caught it and impaled the Nephilim with the weapon. Their eyes, once surged with life, now were desolate craters in his skull. Seven down, three to go.

Sam kicked the Nephilim into the wall and punched him in the jaw. That was the only bright side to fighting a half blood. They could still get hurt like a regular human could. He fired a few rounds from the pistol in his hand into the half blood's chest to distract him until he could reach him with the blade. But, he was too quick. The man grabbed Sam's arm and twisted it back, making Sam fall to the ground instantly in pain. He yelled in agony and stabbed the Nephilim in the leg as a reflex. He fell down next to Sam, giving Sam the perfect opportunity to stab him right in the chest. The Nephilim's life was gone in seconds, way faster than Sam had imagined.

Alice and Angel circled around the ninth Nephilim. "You want to do the honors?" Angel asked her sister politely. She was nearly out of breath. This whole fight was all one big heart attack.

"Nah, I think we can do this one together," Alice smiled mischievously. Her ocean eyes stared right into Angel's, almost signaling when to do it. When the time came, the Nephilim raised his arms in surrender, but that wasn't an option. The Montgomery sisters thrust the blades into the man's body, creating double the electricity that surged through his body right before he perished. Alice nearly collapsed onto Angel in defeat. This was too much. Her powers had drained her and she didn't want to fight any more.

"Peter, you don't have to do this," Dean called out to the last Nephilim, who was chanting around the circle. Dean clutched his chest and panted. He was out of breath and blood was still pouring out of his nose like no tomorrow.

"Think about the future. Think about the consequences to your actions. What's going to happen to your family, to everyone you love?" Sam asked and clutched his shoulder, which was bleeding massively. He had to stop the bleeding, but he didn't want to tear cloth from his plaid shirt to do so. It wouldn't do much to halt it. Sam cringed and glanced at Cas, who cleared his throat.

"He's going to tear half of the human race apart. He will enslave the rest. Then, Lucifer will kill you," Castiel stated as he stepped towards Peter. "He will not hesitate. I know him. He's my brother, after all."

"You shut your whore mouth," Peter pointed at Castiel with a determined look. His eyebrows knit together and his eyes drooped at the thought of being the cause of death of half of the population on the planet.

Angel held up her little sister and draped her arm around her shoulder. Alice was dead weight in her arms. "Sorry sweetheart, my mouth is wide open," Angel smirked slyly and balanced herself up on a railing.

"Of course, 'cause you have to fit all of that," Dean pointed to Sam and winked at Angel, "in that smart ass mouth of yours."

Sam was about to make a comment when Alice interrupted him, "Guys, really?" She shook in her sister's grasp and tried to create a gun in her hand. She failed and draped her arms around Angel. "What if Lucifer doesn't meet your standards at all? What if he's been in the cage with Michael too long and he became soft? He could be a big teddy bear and you will never know until you raise him." Alice coughed up some blood and spat it out. The red plasma plopped against the concrete floor and splashed everywhere. Some of it hit Angel's boots; she gave Alice the dirtiest and most disgusted look.

"Enough, I'm sick of all your shit." Peter thrust his hand forward an made all five of them fly into the walls.

That's one thing they didn't think about. Peter had powers.

Castiel squirmed and nearly broke free from his grasp, but failed. Peter had part of an archangel's powers, which automatically made him stronger than Cas could ever be. He hung there in defeat, feeling his insides twisting and turning. Even if it was only his vessel's body that was getting hurt, it still impacted him as a growing person. The small cuts and bruises that had been caused by the angel blade burned with such an intensity that he almost cried out in sheer pain.

Sam's hazel eyes met Dean's grass green ones. The puppy look he gave his older brother sent out a lot of messages to Dean, which was undecipherable. It could've meant that he loved him. That he's sorry for everything. That he wished he could have done more. That they let the world crash and burn in Lucifer's grasp. That he was thanking him for all of the great things he gave him, but sad for all the moments they would never share again. This all put mixed feelings in Dean's mind and heart. It pained him in such a way that he didn't want to feel ever again, but also made his heart pulse even faster at the thought of his little brother would appreciate anything he ever did for him.

Alice and Angel glanced around at the three men they had come to love. Without a way to get free, there was no point in even trying. Angel's heart warmed at the thought of her finding love. Sam was truly a remarkable person and someone who understood Angel on a whole new level. That's something she was grateful for. Alice picked the blooming flower of love as both her and Castiel figured it out together as they went along in their journey to happiness and pure bliss. That made Alice all tingly inside, thinking about all the joyous times they spent together and even snuck a few kisses here and their. Lastly, the Montgomery sisters loved Dean Winchester. He was the older brother that they never had. Angel was exactly like Dean, but they always found reasons to like each other even more. They constantly fought all of the time, but they needed some annoyance in their life to keep things interesting. Alice loved bugging the hell out of him as much as he enjoyed doing the same to her. When Alice had a gloomy day, she could always count on Dean to brighten it up. "I've heard everything works out the way it's supposed to…" Angel's voice broke. Dean and Sam smirked a bit at the reference, but were saddened. Castiel didn't know what she was even talking about, so he just shook his head and watched Peter.

They all contemplated about the end as it drew near. Peter's chanting grew louder and louder with each strenuous second. All they could imagine was Lucifer rising and killing them first. Maybe he would even do it slowly to torture them…

Peter screamed out in sheer pain. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to him. His skin glowed against the silver angel blade that burst through his back. He gazed into the eyes of his murderer as his mouth hung agape. Peter tried to spit words out of his mouth like a machine gun, ready to bring down some egos or hurt someone right before he died. Before he could, his body dropped to the ground and his wings imprinted itself in ashes on the floor.

The group became free of the telekinesis and was dropped to the floor. They groaned and just lay there for a bit on the cold hard concrete. Gabriel stood there, tears streaming down his face, and the angel blade covered in blood fell out of his clammy hands. "You were supposed to be good…" He whispered. His lips quivered and he shut his eyes away from the horrific sight. "I had a son. I had a child that I could take care of. I could have guided you onto a path of righteousness that rocked. I could have taught you so many things, but you chose my brother, whom you don't even know, over me…" Gabriel's voice broke at the last part of the sentence, and all went silent in the factory. "You aren't the first, and you won't be the last."


	25. Chapter 25-Year 6

_Thank you for reading this far. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep posting on here...I haven't gotten many reads or comments like I have in the other websites. But...please enjoy._

"Is Dr. Blake in his office?" Alice questioned the receptionist, who sat quietly at her desk as she typed away at her computer.

The receptionist looked up at Alice with her gray orbs and moved her curly black hair out of her face. Her black sweater covered up her grey shirt with a peter pan collar. She shyly stated, "Yes. Who are you exactly?"

Angel and Alice took out their FBI badges and showed them to the receptionist. Angel firmly said, "Listen," -she glanced at the nametag- "Victoria, we need to talk to Dr. Blake. It's important to our case."

Victoria's eyes widened. "A case? What's been happening?"

Alice shot a dirty look at Angel before responding, "It's all just suspicions. No need to worry."

Victoria hesitantly got up to the door and led them to his office. "Dr. Blake, these agents want to talk to you." She huddled up against the wall to let them enter and quietly left, almost as if she was a ghost to everyone she came across.

"Agents?" He questioned. "I have already talked to the police." The man that sat at the desk turned to face them. Dr. Blake ran his fingers through his short, brown, slicked back hair. His tongue ran along his lips in anticipation, which hit the edges of his small mustache and budding beard. His brown eyes checked the girls out for a split second and quickly answered, "I will not be answering any more questions."

"Dr. Blake, it will only be a few questions," Alice said with politeness.

His eyes switched back and forth between the two agents and sighed. "What do you want to know?"

Angel's mind wandered at the thought of the horrors of coming to a therapist would be like. When she came back to reality, she realized her sister was waiting on her to ask something. "We understand that some of your patients have gone missing over the past few weeks. Do you have any idea as to why that is happening?"

"No, I have no idea. They have all known each other for quite some time now. Other than that, they don't really socialize with anyone," Dr. Blake answered.

"They don't have any relatives? Any friends?" Alice questioned in confusion. Surely everyone has some type of family somewhere that cares…right?

He nearly chuckled before stating, "No. They were outsiders that were trying to stay that way. Their families aren't supportive and won't miss them. What else is there to do when everyone has turned their back on you?" He eyed Alice carefully, which gained Angel's attention.

Angel narrowed her eyes before asking politely, almost hissing her words through her teeth, "Do you have any files that we can borrow?"

"Of course, let me just get them out for you." He searched for the manila folders in the office cabinet behind him and flicked past a few.

"Would you mind telling us what disorders these patients had?" Alice fumbled with her hands before looking up at the doctor, who was kneeling over his desk.

He bit the inside of his mouth, and Angel spotted it. After a second, Dr. Blake smiled genuinely and responded, "Not at all. Ms. Delilah Kipilah had severe insomnia and schizophrenia, and was desperately seeking treatment for it. She would hear these noises and people would talk to her, but they weren't really there. Mr. Eric Munday was bipolar, but he was getting better. There was definitely signs of improvement before he…disappeared. Mrs. Suzy Cruz, one of the nicest ladies I have ever encountered, was very sick from depression. Her husband had been killed fighting a war across the seas and made her get very ill. Lastly, Mr. Matt Terin. He was an oddball in the patients I had been treating. He had very vivid night terrors, but other than that, he was mentally alright. Mr. Terin didn't seem like someone who would seek help for anything." Dr. Blake stopped for a second to rub his temples, "I can't believe they're all gone…"

The room fell silent. Angel fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably and had to stand up. She hated being in any doctor's office. She felt…out of place. "Thank you for your time, Dr. Blake. If we have any further questions, we won't hesitate to call you." She let Alice take the files and walk out of the door.

When the Montgomery sisters walked out of the door, the receptionist became jumpy and scrambled things about on her desk in a rush to find something to do. Angel raised an eyebrow and watched as she hung her head and scribbled things down on notebook paper. The receptionist, Victoria, didn't dare look up at the agents as they walked out of the office.

Alice smiled on the way to the car, which confused Angel. "What are you so happy about?"

"I love paperwork. It's exciting to flip through," she declared as she opened up her car door.

Angel rolled her eyes and started the car. "See, that's one main difference between us. You like work. I don't." She pulled out her cell phone and called Sam. She put it on speaker before she drove back to the house, which was an hour drive.

"Hey," Sam picked up the phone. His voice sounded a bit cheery for once, which lightened Angel's lead sunken heart.

"I need you to do a background check for me. This receptionist was being really suspicious around us."

Alice gave her sister the stink eye, "Are you kidding me? She was probably just socially awkward."

"I ain't taking any chances, sis. Her name is Victoria…" Angel trailed off before attempting to remember the rest.

When she failed to complete her sentence, Alice stepped in. "Victoria Von Geist."

Sam typed furiously on his keyboard as he researched her background. He huffed and adjusted himself, which made a loud noise on the phone. Angel made a sign to her sister and Alice made a cream soda out of air to give to her. Angel grinned at her sister before she took it and drank some of it. With one click over the phone, Sam finally found what he was looking for. "Victoria Von Geist, born October 13th, 1982-"

"She's two years younger than me? That's crazy. I was born October 27th, 1980," Angel scoffed. "She looks way younger than that."

"You're telling me! I was born January 15th, 1985. She's older than me, yet she looks younger. That makes me feel terrible!" Alice exclaimed in sheer disappointment.

Sam cleared his throat before continuing, "She lives at 768 Tropical Drive. Her record doesn't have any splotches or criminal activity…It's clean. Too clean."

"So, what are we going to do? Are we going there right now?" Angel asked as she tapped her fingers against the steering wheel. She was feeling very impatient for some reason. Her mind wandered off and watched the street ahead of her.

A grumble came from the back of the room. "No. Cas and I are going. I need to get out of the house," Dean spoke up. "Just come home."

Alice snapped up a protein shake to drink and opened it. She grimaced before saying, "Just don't get into any trouble. After what happened…"

Castiel snapped, "We don't speak about it."

"I'll see you when you get home." Sam hung up the phone.

Angel's eyes flickered over to her younger sister. She contemplated a little bit and wondered if she should ask. She hesitated, "Is everything alright with you and Cas?"

Alice massaged her brow and leaned her arm against the door. She ran her tongue across her lips before clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "Just a little tension."

She knew exactly what Alice was talking about. The whole house had been tense since the near-apocalypse situation happened. Everyone was jittery and on edge, nearly at each other's throats itching to fight. Such a simple situation messed with everyone's minds. Dean had been in a foul mood. Castiel always paced back and forth or tapped his foot on the floor. He was always in tune with the angel radio in his head. Sam constantly surfed the web, searching for a case. Alice worked out and sometimes did yoga. Angel went to the gun range twice a week to blow off some steam. Everyone did their own thing to stay sane, but so far, it was as intense as ever.

"Yeah, I know…" Angel trailed off as she turned up the radio.

Dean pick-locked the door of Victoria's house. The house itself appeared an old style house. There was a large window seat inside, a small porch leading up to the door (which Dean thought was the perfect way to drag a body in since it was covered well from the neighbor's sight), and a little tower room as a third story. The white paint at the top of the house was chipped and yellowing, and the bricks that laid over the paint towards the bottom of the house were red and almost to the point where they were breaking, as if something had crashed into it at one point. Cas stood idly by, gazing around the neighborhood, which was full of life down the block. Children were playing outside, running around on the makeshift basketball court in the street and others sat around in a circle telling the new gossip going around. Castiel wondered what it would be like to have a child, or even if he could. Dean opened the door and led the way inside of the house. Cas shut the door behind him and his eyes peered about.

"We're looking for a body or any evidence that shows she's been killin' the patients," Dean stated as he glimpsed at Castiel.

Cas was wearing his usual attire, meaning his usual tan trench coat and black business suit accompanied by a blue tie. "I'll go smell for rotting corpses." He glanced at Dean, who wore his black short sleeved shirt and brown leather jacket. His blue denim pants were stained in faded blood from the last time he wore them.

Dean walked up the stairs leading to the second floor. Castiel glanced to the room on the left of the stairs. The white kitchen appeared pristine white and clean, which meant there was no evidence in there. He led his way into the living room, which was on the right of the stairs. The paneled windows shaped into half a octagon and were recently cleaned. A coffee table sat in the middle of the room and a few chairs were scattered around. His bright blue eyes caught sight of a picture frame that stood on the table. He picked it up gently to focus on the picture. A father, a young boy, and a mother holding a tiny baby. Smiles were planted on the family's faces as they posed nicely for whoever was behind the camera. Family…The angel radio has been quiet lately. Things have never been this calm before…It's not natural. He thought to himself. Cas thought back to the other family he had. Things haven't been the same since Gabriel killed his son. It has been a long time since everyone hung out like they normally did, drinking and joking around. The wooden floors squeaked under Castiel's weight as he approached another door. The door itself was wooden and sat in the back of the room. He cocked his head and opened it. He followed the stairs that led to the dark basement. A foul odor hit him like a tidal wave and he cringed. Cas' face distorted as he lurked farther into the basement. He walked straight into something that hung from the ceiling and a bucket spilled what it contained all over the stone floor. Castiel fumbled around for the light switch and turned it on when he found it. "Dean!" He called out as he stared at the thing in front of him.

Dean ran down the stairs two at a time and gazed straight at the body. A man hung from the ceiling from a thick rope. Stains of blood trails lined his skin, which led down to the bucket. Dean accidentally stepped in the blood that Cas mistakenly spilled. He grimaced as he declared, "Well…someone had a little fun hogtying that guy to the ceiling." He shook off some of the blood from his shoes.

"You should call Sam to see if this was one of the victims from our case."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You can call Alice, you know."

Castiel shook his head slightly and his lips tightened into a thin line. "I…I don't think that's a good idea." His heart sank just thinking about it. One fight could wreck their whole relationship. He didn't want to start that now.

It hurt Dean to see Castiel this way. He was like a little brother to him, and knowing that he was tearing himself apart by staying away from his girlfriend almost made what was left of Dean's heart shrivel up. He had a girlfriend! What could he possibly be missing? Dean wished he could keep one alive… "Look, if you keep distancing yourself from her, you'll lose her. You might as well try to make the best of what you have now. We could have died a-" Dean was interrupted by the door opening upstairs. Their attention was drawn to it like flies to a bug zapper. Dean put a finger to his lips, indicating to stay silent, and quietly tiptoed up the stair case.

Keys rattled and were set down on a hardwood surface. Some plastic bags rustled and made a loud noise against the marble countertops. Black boots clinked against the tiled flooring in the kitchen and the page of a book was flipped. Dean opened the door and walked into the living room. Great…She must be home. He almost groaned in frustration, but then realized he wouldn't have to track her down. He was going to lean up against the wall until she walked into the living room and spotted him.

Veronica's eyes widened and she swallowed the food that was stuffed in her mouth. Her hands let go of the book she was holding and made a run for it. Dean ran to catch her, turning around the corner to see something quite eventful. Veronica looked back to see if he was chasing her and tripped on one of the bags she set on the floor earlier. She fell and hit her head against the countertop, falling lifelessly to the floor. Dean scratched his head and bit his lip from laughing. "That was uneventful." He pulled out his cell phone and called his brother. "Found a body in the basement. She's surely the murderer, but do you think she's a demon of some kind? She was draining his blood…"

"Could be. Maybe she's trying to become fully human. Maybe the flesh tastes better dry. Either way, she's doing it for a reason," Sam replied. His voice sounded ruff and groggy, so something went wrong back at the house.

Dean shook his head and smiled. "You should have seen it, Sammy. She ran from me and knocked herself out by tripping. I'll tell you all about it later. I'm bringing her in."


	26. Chapter 26

_Author's Note: Please don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to hear some feedback. Plus, I am not sure if I should keep posting on here...Thank you for reading!_

Angel sat next to Sam on the couch and set her legs on his. She stretched and began to devour the chips she held in her hand. He glanced at her sideways and scoffed, "Of course. It's never a healthy snack. Do you know what's in those?"

She munched on a chip as she spoke, "Nope. Do I care? No. It tastes a lot better than the stuff that you eat."

He chuckled deeply and shook his head. "Oh, bite me."

"Oh, Sammy, you know I will without hesitation," Angel winked seductively. His face turned bright red and fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. She laughed at his sudden agitation and stuffed her mouth with chips.

Castiel came through the front door and gave some space for Dean to walk. Dean was carrying Victoria over his shoulder. He huffed, "You know, she's heavier than she looks."

Angel got up and stated, "We'll put her in the basement." She moved over to the stairs and lifted the rug that covered them. She pushed the tiny button underneath one of the stairs and the bottom half of the staircase fell to reveal a secret passageway. She popped another chip in her mouth as she went down into the basement.

"You've had a basement that we don't know about?" Dean questioned in slight curiosity. He trudged down into the tunnel like area and made sure to watch his step.

Angel wrinkled her nose and said, "I never mentioned that we had a basement. You didn't ask, so it was never brought up." She flipped the light switch on the wall and lit up the dark room.

The basement was made of pure concrete flooring and walls. Bookshelves lined one wall filled with knowledge and wonder, while the other walls held empty bulletin boards. Dean thought that the bulletin boards would come in handy for the apocalypse case they had. They could pinpoint places and people with markers and link them together with string. He enjoyed the detective work they had to do. Guns and weapons of all kinds filled the whole back wall, which almost made Dean drool. He knew he had weapons in Baby, but it was a lot less drool worthy. There was a room in the back, but the door was closed. "When you have something this badass, you tell someone about it." He gazed around and raised an eyebrow, "Got any paint?"

"Alice!" Angel called for her sister. She put her hands on her hips and finished up the bag of chips. She flung the bag at Dean's head and watched him give her the nastiest glare.

"Yeah?" Alice walked down into the basement. "Wow, this hasn't seen life in a while…" She referred to the room. She glanced around and inhaled, remembering everything that happened in the room in the past.

"I need red paint, rope, and a chair," Dean stated. He fixed Victoria's position and moved his shoulder to a more comfortable position.

Alice giggled, "That's a little kinky, Dean." He gave her a What-The-Fuck look before she created the objects he needed. She then left the basement to go do whatever she was doing before. Dean set Victoria down in the chair and proceeded to tie her up. He tightened the knot on the rope before he started to paint a devil's trap around her.

"That line is crooked," Angel observed as she swung her legs. She sat on the table and watched him. She grinned at Sam for a second, glimpsing over at his curious state of mind. Sam was checking out all of the books they had in astonishment.

Dean turned to her and furrowed his brow, "I don't give a rat's ass if it's crooked." He shook his head and turned back to finish his work. His head was hurting and Angel wasn't making any of it better. He could just simply ignore her. That was the only thing he could do.

Angel sighed, "You missed a spot."

Dean spun around so fast that he almost got whiplash. He pointed the paint brush at Angel, and paint flung onto her black leather jacket. Her face progressively turned red and her hands balled up into fists. "Son of a bitch…" Dean whispered to himself.

Angel hopped off the table and dove to attack him, but Sam swooped in and grabbed her. He held her back as she yelled and squirmed, but she couldn't escape for the life of her. She bit his hand, kicked his leg, flung her head against his shoulder, but nothing worked. "Let me go!"

"Are you going to calm down?" Sam asked in her ear. Angel calmed down in a split second and hung there in his arms. She sighed and knew he wouldn't let go until she did. She glanced back at Dean and the fire lit back up in her eyes. She cried out in frustration as Sam took her back upstairs and locked themselves in their room.

Dean massaged the back of his neck and closed his eyes. He was tense, but he wasn't about to fight Angel. If he were going to fight anyone, it would be someone other than his family. He could be on the verge of a complete breakdown or anger outbreak, but he would never lay a finger on them. Not now, not ever. Angel…Now Angel was a different story. She had been on edge ever since they said they were going to kill Peter. She was completely ready to teach someone a lesson…

And not in the fun way.

Dean rubbed his tired eyes and leaned against the table after he put the paint in the corner. He could hear Angel and Sam yelling upstairs about something irrelevant. He could hear the television on in the living room, probably where Alice and Castiel were, not communicating in any way. The vein in his forehead throbbed and all he could do was sigh in frustration. There had to be something that brought them together. He just had to think of what that 'something' could be.

Victoria groaned and tilted her head back. She twitched a bit and tried to lift her arms. She knit her eyebrows together and lifted her heavy eyelids. "Where…where am I?"

Dean didn't bother to answer her until she fully came to her senses. He dragged his hand along the stubble on his chin. "Let's start with one question. Why do you think you're here?"

She didn't answer and thought for a moment. She wrinkled her brow and stated, "I-I don't know."

"Maybe it's because you had a body in your basement?"

Victoria gasped and her eyes filled with panic. Her breathing became erratic and nearly hyperventilated. "What? Is it one of the patients?"

Dean nodded. Not a lot of people can act on cue like that. He thought. "You better start talkin' or I'm gonna to call the cops."

She cocked her head and spat, "You? The person who kidnapped me?"

"Who are they going to believe? I could easily say that I saw you dragging the body in your house, you saw me, ran, and I caught you to turn you in. You were hiding a body in your basement," Dean pointed out. He stood up and paced around Victoria as a scare tactic. Having a Winchester against you almost always ended up in death, or worse, purgatory.

"I didn't kill anybody!" She yelled and struggled against her restraints. Her voice cracked, "I don't know what is wrong with me. I have a dark side and that dark side killed my mother. I can't handle it and isolation didn't help, it only made it worse. He said he could help me…"

"Who?" Dean questioned. He had a hunch, but he couldn't go charging into Dr. Blake's office and accuse him of the murder of his own patients. Victoria bit her lip and didn't answer. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked everywhere other than at him. Dean's patience was thinning after a minute or two and stated, "Screw this…" He began to walk out.

Victoria spoke up in a rush, "He promised to bring my brother back from the dead…" She shook in the chair and repeated the line over and over. She rocked gently back and forth at the verge of tears. Dean left without looking back.

Sam gently closed the bedroom door behind him and walked into the living room. "Another patient just went missing. A neighbor claimed they saw someone dragging the patient into a van and driving away."

"How do you know this?" Alice questioned as she turned around in her seat. She was sitting across from Castiel, who was on the other side of the room. He wasn't turned towards her, so they weren't on talking terms yet.

"Police radio." Sam shifted his weight and looked into her blue eyes. "I need you to come with me."

She turned back towards the television. Her legs were hanging over the arm of the chair and she made herself comfortable again. "Why not take Angel?"

"I really need to talk to you." Sam grinned a bit and bit his lip. "I calmed her down. We talked a bit. Now she's sleeping."

Alice got up and trudged outside. "You're lucky I'm nice."

"That's what you think nice is?" Sam scoffed. "I think you and I have two very different definitions of nice."

She rolled her eyes and quickly changed subjects. "Do you think Victoria's being framed? Dean's been with her the whole time. There's no way she could have taken the patients."

"Unless she was aiding the therapist. Either that or he's framing her. It's too difficult to decide," Sam shrugged and started up Angel's Camaro. He didn't want to start up a fight with Dean about taking the Impala.

"I think she's innocent." Alice leaned against the door and gazed at Sam. She studied him for a while.

His hair was an inch longer and he actually had stubble on his chin. Sam exhaled quite loudly and focused on the road. He changed the station to something more his taste and drove with one hand. "We found a body in her basement."

Alice set her feet on the dash and stretched. "Yeah, but I could have a body in my basement and you wouldn't question my innocence."

He shook his head in dismay. "That's a different scenario. She's a regular person. If she's a homicidal maniac, we need to treat her like one. Victoria could be completely crazy."

"She's not the type to be crazy. She's quiet. Reserved. Shy. She didn't have a picture of friends on her desk and she sure as hell socially awkward. There's no way in hell she's a homicidal maniac."

"Be careful. I know the king of Hell. He can tell me exactly what's going on," Sam warned jokingly. He nearly laughed at his own joke. As if he'd call Crowley for such a little thing.

Alice tapped her knuckles on the glass window. Out of impatience, she asked, "What did you have to talk to me about?"

Sam didn't know where to start. Dozens of things were running through his mind at a million miles an hour. He opened his mouth, but then closed it. He wasn't ready to say. What exactly would he say? To start off, he didn't even think he would ever get this far. With his track record of women, he thought surely Angel would be dead by the first or second year. Anything else was up in the air. Now, it was the sixth year he's known the Montgomery sisters. Hell, he was surprised he even made it this far in his own life. The relationship he had with Angel became all too real these past few months. He's never been this happy in a long time. With the circumstances of being a hunter, he thought he should have married her years ago. That way he could at least say he married one of the loves of his life after he died. "I've been thinking…"

When a thick silence settled, Alice urged him on. "Yeah?"

"I wanted to…uh…ask for your blessing. I-" He stopped mid sentence and blushed a bit. The words had to come out of his mouth. If it wasn't now, it would never happen. His stomach twisted in knots and his heart rate sped up. He knew she would say yes, but he had to say the sentence he never thought he would ever say after Jess died. "I want to marry Angel."

Alice choked on the word she was about to say. She didn't think he would ask her for her blessing. She just thought he was the type of guy to get engaged and then tell everyone. He was definitely more gentlemen-like than Alice originally thought. She looked at him with the biggest eyes and shook from excitement. "Hell yes! You can have a million blessings from me!"

Sam smiled, which showed his white teeth. He ducked his head a bit to hide the blush from his cheeks. "Good. I already bought the ring."

Alice squealed out of pure joy as he took the ring out to show her. The box was small and made of red velvet. The ring sat in a fluff of white cushions and shined in the sunlight coming in from the windshield. The ring had only one diamond, but it fit Angel. Simple, yet pretty. Alice made pterodactyl noises over the ring. This is actually happening… She thought.

Sam shot her a curious look and asked, "What are you doing?"

She stopped and blushed out of embarrassment. She had only ever been that weird around Angel. She didn't realize she had gotten to that point in her friendship with Sam that she could b that weird out of pure habit. "…Nothing." Alice was giddy, nonetheless, and had the urge to tell Angel right away. "How are you going to propose?" The word rolled off her tongue like an exotic word. Marriage was something she thought Angel would never have. She was such a lone wolf, but on the inside, she wanted someone just as much as Alice did.

"That's just between me and Angel," he winked and chuckled deeply. He pulled up to Victoria's house and stopped the engine. He observed the area and leaned forward in his seat. "Is that Victoria's car?"

Alice squinted her eyes to see in the dark. "No, that's Dr. Blake's car. Why is he here?"

"Maybe he really is the murderer…Do you think he's a demon?" Sam turned to Alice fully and leaned his arm on the seat. His lips tightened into a straight line. He hated going in not knowing what he was up against. That's why he always did his research, so he'd get it right the first time.

Alice opened her mouth to say something, but lost the thought. "I…I don't know. It doesn't hurt to be prepared, right?"

They left the car and quietly entered the house. The front door was unlocked and a blood trail led down to the basement. Neither of them were afraid. It wasn't like they didn't have the situation handled. They had been through worse over the last few years. Alice eyed Sam curiously, suspecting that the patient was already dead. She leaned up against the wall adjacent to the door and nodded towards him. He nodded in return and opened the door. He rushed down there like a charging moose and ducked when Dr. Blake threw a punch at him immediately. Dr. Blake seemed to have known they were there since they arrived. He had sedated the patient who was tied up by her feet and hung from the ceiling. Her body was cut up in several places and a big bruise grazed the skin on her jaw.

Sam decked Dr. Blake in the nose quickly. Sam backed away to get away from his swift kick. Sam took out the demon killing knife and aimed for his chest. Dr. Blake waved his hand delicately and Sam went flying into the table across the room. The knife slid behind one of the bookcases.

Alice skipped two steps at a time and nearly jumped down the entire staircase. She created a water gun full of holy water and sprayed it all over the doctor. He hissed and his skin burned like food on a sizzling pan. So he is a demon… Alice thought. Dr. Blake grabbed one of the folded chairs against the wall and hit Alice over the head with it. She felt a thick liquid drip down from the wound, and didn't realize what was going on until Dr. Blake kicked her in the stomach. She rolled over and groaned. He set his foot on her back, grabbed her right arm, and forced it behind her back in an awkward way. She screamed as he popped her arm out of place and jerked it backwards, snapping her bone in half.

Sam struggled, but forced himself up. He hazily glanced over at Alice, and tackled Dr. Blake. When Alice had the upper hand, Sam peered underneath the bookcases for the knife. They didn't want the demon getting free, so they had to find the knife. He used his strength to throw one bookcase down, but the knife wasn't there.

Alice created a giant cartoon mallet and made a war cry as she swung it. The mallet knocked him straight in the rib cage, making him fall backwards to the floor. The impact was great and should have made some of his broken ribs penetrate his inner organs. But that wouldn't matter to a demon. Alice punched him as many times as she could until he rolled them both over. Now he was on top, using both hands to choke her. Alice struggled to get free, but failed. She only had one arm. Sweat dropped down her forehead, or what she hoped was sweat, and trickled down the side of her face. Her once pale face burned as red as the sun and her cries reminded Sam of the cries of the damned in hell.

The knife went through Dr. Blake's back, sending an orange electricity through his whole body. When the doctor resisted, Sam pushed the knife deeper into his wound. His eyes changed to black, then back to its original color. Dr. Blake fell lifelessly to the floor next to Alice.

She caught her breath, was helped up by Sam, and spit on his dead body. "Good riddance," she managed to say in a raspy, fifty year old chain smoker voice. Sam got the patient down and carried her to the car.

"You think the police is going to believe this?" He questioned quietly. Even Sam's voice was weak and tired from everything. He helped Alice into the car after getting the patient situated in the back.

Alice chuckled to herself and stated, "I'm the FBI agent here. They better believe me. We'll just go to the police station, tell them what happened, and that's it. Otherwise, there's going to be a state wide search for Victoria and we can't risk that since we're an hour away."


	27. Chapter 27

_This new chapter is dedicated to kaitlin. who left all these amazing reviews. I will finish the story on here. Thank you all for reading. :)_

Castiel entered the house and headed straight towards the silent dining room. Dean and Angel sat at the ends of the table, while Sam and Alice sat across from each other in the middle. Dean tapped his fingers along the rim of the table to one of his favorite songs. Angel's eyes were closed as her head rested on her propped up hand. Cas couldn't tell if she was listening to the awkward silence or sleeping. Sam gazed at Dean to see what he was thinking about. He concentrated on him, but nothing worked. Alice swiped away at her cell phone, looking at funny pictures to pass the time. Cas walked over to the table, "The meeting is in session." He looked at each and every one of them as they adjusted in their seat to sit up and listen. Castiel's deep voice was rough, but had a velvet touch to it. "I've learned that Victoria is a hybrid between demon and human. She, uh…is Alastair's child."

"Excuse me?" Dean's eyes filled with rage in seconds. "You mean the bastard that tortured me in hell had a child and she's in our basement right now?"

"Yes," Cas answered simply. There was no other way to put it. "Because she's a hybrid, when she goes dark side, she blacks out. She doesn't remember anything at all."

Sam and Dean simultaneously agreed, "We should get rid of her."

Cas shook his head. "Maybe we shouldn't." Everyone looked at him like he was crazy. He went on expressing his opinion, "She didn't look guilty of the murders or anything. Dr. Blake tricked her into doing whatever he wanted, but I'm sure she didn't know he was going to pin the deaths on her. He said he'd bring her brother back from the dead." His semi-chapped lips formed into a tight line. "We can teach her how to control her abilities. She could be a great hunter."

Dean instantly straightened his posture and glared at Castiel. The rough edge in his voice could slice through a boulder. "That doesn't excuse the fact that she's…his child."

Alice shrugged and put her hand in the air towards Dean. "She wasn't raised by him. She hasn't even met him. You can't define her on someone who she hasn't even made contact with. We should give her a chance."

Angel sighed and tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. "Alice is right. You guys didn't know we had powers until the second time we met." She pointed at Dean with one finger, "You were hesitant on letting us join the group. But still, you let us in. Now look at us. We're a family."

Sam didn't want to argue with Angel. Not right before he wanted to ask her to marry him. But he thought Dean had a point. "What if being evil runs in the family? We don't even know what she can do when she goes dark side."

"That's why we train her," Castiel commented. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

Dean's breathing sharpened and a vein almost showed in his neck. He was getting angrier by the second. "I don't think I'm comfortable with that thing in our house."

"That thing is a human being," Alice shot back. Her blue eyes shot daggers at Dean. She thought he was being completely unreasonable. "I'll train her. There's an extra room in the basement, and that's where she can stay. We don't have an extra room anywhere else. I think she'll appreciate the room down there. There's the library we have so she can catch up on research. She will become useful."

A thick silence settled. Everyone sat there, listening to each other's small breaths and glanced from person to person. Sometimes eyes met, but quickly glanced away. No one said a word. Sam had mixed emotions about the situation at hand. Yeah, she was a demon's child, but Alice had a point too. Victoria has never even met her father. If she had, things would be hell of a lot easier to decide. Dean was clearly outnumbered by three people, and Sam was neutral.

Dean stood up and punched the table with his fist. "Fine. She's not my responsibility. If she goes dark side and the only way to stop her is to kill her, I will not hesitate to do so…" He walked out of the room and slammed the front door.

Dean leaned against the hood of Baby. That was always a calm place for him. He and Sam had the best memories in the same place in various locations, just drinking beer and gazing up at the stars. Millions of ideas were running through his mind right now and he didn't know what to do. He was outnumbered back there. There was no way he could change their minds on letting Victoria stay.

A clinking sound came from behind him, which made him turn around. Sam was standing there with two beers in hand. He handed one to Dean and leaned on the Impala next to him. His hazel eyes gazed up at the night sky. "I'm sorry about what happened in there."

Dean took a sip of his beer and grunted. "I don't trust Victoria. Half demon, half human? That reeks trouble. How do they not see that? C'mon!"

Sam clinked his beer bottle on the hood of the car. He rolled his shoulders and tried to brush off the tenseness of his muscles. "I never thought Alastair would have a child."

"Who would do him? Seriously?" Dean was angry, but he chuckled a bit. There was no holding that back around his little brother.

Sam's eyes brightened and he smiled genuinely. "Your guess is as good as mine." He ran his tongue along the front of his teeth as a small silence settled in the cold air. The stars twinkled brightly above, putting on a show for the Winchester brothers. "But Victoria could be of use to us. We could always use another person on our team."

Dean flared his nostrils and almost threw the bottle down on the concrete. "Of use to us? To hell with that! She could turn against us like most people have in our lives. She could put our family in danger." He calmed down and remembered a good memory. It was when he watched the fireworks in the meadow with his little brother. Sam appeared so happy, so overwhelmed with emotions that weren't shown every day. He clung to that memory to keep him at bay. Dean didn't want to yell at Sam for something he didn't do. "I'm not going to let her put our family in danger. I don't want that bitch in our group."

Sam shrugged and looked at Dean. Dean's eyes were a dark shade of emerald as the shadows took over. Dean's jaw was locked in place and his breathing was heavy. Sam hurt to see Dean hurting like this, but he had to press on. "We don't have a choice. The group has decided already. I know how you eel. I don't want any of us in danger either. We just have to give her a chance."

"A chance? I gave her a chance. Then I found out she was half demon and couldn't control it." He chugged the rest of his beer and threw the bottle into the trashcan on the curb. He landed it in the can perfectly.

Sam nervously rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb. Butterflies flew about in his stomach and pressured him into changing the subject. "I'm going to propose to Angel."

Dean turned to him immediately and raised an eyebrow. Now that was shocking. "Seriously? You ready for that?"

"It's now or never, right?" Sam questioned in a low tone. He was so shaken up about doing this that he almost broke out in a sweat. "The war is getting closer. If things go wrong…" Sam paused and shook his head, "I want to at least try to have a family of my own…"

Dean's anger lifted. Pride swept through him like a cold wind and his mind was filled with different thoughts on how his life would turn out. His baby brother was going to get married, and it was his choice this time. Dean patted him on the back, "Go get her, tiger." Sam smiled weakly, nodded, and walked inside. Dean was now left alone to think.

Sam was jittery. It was as if bugs crawled under his skin and wouldn't stop.

He had to do it.

His heart was thumping against his rib cage and he almost broke out into a cold sweat. His hands shook nervously and he paced around the hallway. Sam could hunt anything on the planet, but when it came to something as simple as asking someone to marry him, he nearly fell apart. Everything he was feeling felt like he was standing on the edge of the highest mountain with no way down except jumping.

It was now or never.

He entered the master bedroom and closed the door immediately. His hazel eyes caught sight of Angel folding clothes and putting them into their dresser. She saw him and smiled, "Hey." She set the shirt she was folding on the bed.

Sam admired her appearance for a second. Angel wore a gray shirt with blue jeans. She was around the house, so she didn't wear any shoes. Her long wavy brown hair cascaded past her shoulders like a waterfall. Her bright navy eyes were gentle and calm for once.

Sam jumped off the mountain.

He went over to Angel and picked her up, pushing her up against the wall. A breath left her from the sudden shock and he kissed her hungrily. His lips met her soft pink ones and moved in sync with one another. The taste of candy chap stick met his taste buds, which made him want more. The smell of fresh vanilla intoxicated him. Their breathing spiked in seconds and soon they couldn't keep up with the sharp breaths. She ran her hands through his hair, making him groan a bit to the feeling.

"What's got…you…so…riled up?" Angel asked in between kisses.

Sam kissed her again. And again. And again. His hands moved from her back slowly and steadily down to her waist. Chills ran down Angel's back. Sam backed away a bit, but not much. He opened his eyes and gazed at her.

"What are you waiting for?" Angel's breathing was rough now and she felt as if she couldn't get enough of him.

He declared out of breath, "One word."

"Like what? Our safety word? Because that won't happen until some action starts," she winked and grinned slyly. Angel set her hands on the collar of his shirt and tugged him closer.

Sam smiled slightly. He didn't know whether to ask her before or after they've done it. She was just so tempting, right there in his arms, nearly begging him to take her. He shut his mind off of that topic for a second and thought about the matter at hand.

This couldn't wait.

"No, something completely different, sweetheart." Sam set her down on her feet as she looked at him curiously. She nearly pouted, but patiently waited to see what he wanted. He took her hands in his gently. "I don't even know where to start…" He trailed off and got lost in her sparkling eyes. She raised an eyebrow and licked her lips nervously. She couldn't read his face to see what he might be thinking. Sam sucked up the courage and started out by giving her a crumpled up piece of paper. He sharply inhaled. He was so nervous that he was shaking.

Angel raised an eyebrow and unwrinkled the paper. An expression of recognition swept across her features. This reaction put a little strength in Sam. The note was the piece of paper with Angel's name and phone number she gave to Sam the first time they met. Except something had been changed. Angel's last name, Montgomery, had been crossed out and replaced with Winchester. Her glossy eyes looked at Sam in astonishment. He had kept the note for six years, just waiting for the right time to reveal it.

This was it.

"I know we've been through a lot in the past few years, but I can't stand the thought of ever having to go on without you. I love you, Angel, with all of my entire being…" Sam nervously pulled out the ring from his pocket and got down on one knee. "Angel Montgomery, will you marry me?"

Angel turned tomato red in a split second. Her body went as rigid as a plank. There was so much pressure on her, but she knew exactly what to say. It would be stupid to refuse. They had been dating for four years. She attempted to search for the right words in her stunned state. "Wow, Sam…you really read my mind." She went to the dresser and took out a little black box. Inside, it held a silver band with engraving on the inside. Angel regained her composure. "I was going to propose in a few days or so." She showed him the engraving: Always Together in Spirit. "If one of us dies unexpectedly and we can't get the other back, we'll keep the ring as a memory. I'll be by your side until the day you die."

Sam stood up and his heart swooned. He didn't know what to think of that. "I'll die beside you when we're old and have great grandchildren…" Had he really believed what he said? It was hard to do that, especially with their profession. Sam wanted to believe it with all his heart. "I can't believe you had the same thought." His mind was at ease, for he knew her answer. He knew from the start she'd say yes, but now that the cat was out of the bag, he could relax. By now, his heart had calmed down to a slow and steady pace.

Angel beamed, revealing a bit of her white teeth. "Yeah. I wanted to take the initiative before everything went to hell…"

"That would have really surprised me," Sam chuckled. He rubbed the back of his tense neck.

"Yeah. It's not everyday that women propose. I'm usually the one to make the first move, but I'm really glad you did. I'm a smooth talker, but I probably would have messed up with proposing to you," she admitted. Her eyes lit up even more, "And yes. I will marry you." She let him slide the ring on her finger and she did the same to him. She thought it was funny that they both thought of proposing, but it was worth it. It really showed they both wanted it.

He pulled her to him and kissed her gently this time. His lips brushed hers lightly. He could feel her heart beat thudding against her chest, which made his mood lighten up. Sam stopped, which made her back away. He still held onto her by her waist, so she couldn't move that far. His eyes glanced from her eyes, down to her lips, and back to her eyes. He bit his lip, knowing he wanted so much more of her right now. "Now, about that safety word…"


	28. Chapter 28

Alice braced herself and waited for Victoria to strike. She held her stance and leaned back and forth slightly to keep herself on edge. Victoria didn't know exactly what to do at first. Her fist flew through the air and aimed for Alice's jaw, but Alice caught it with her uninjured arm. Her broken arm was in a sling. There was no way of getting around that. At least it wasn't worse. Victoria kicked her in the gut and thought that she had the upper hand. Truth was, she didn't. Alice knew she was going to throw a punch next, so she ducked and retaliated by pushing her into the table. This wasn't pro training like Alice was used to, but she had to start somewhere with Victoria.

Victoria hesitated and wiped some sweat away. They had been training for over an hour now. Her gray eyes peered into Alice's blue ones. "So I'm guessing the guy that brought me here doesn't like me?"

"Good guess," Alice remarked and watched her carefully. Alice's red hair was in a ponytail. She maintained herself enough to where she wasn't sweating yet, but her arm hurt like hell.

"Why?" Victoria simply asked. There were some things she had to know, especially when she heard what happened at the meeting all the way from the basement.

Alice didn't know whether to tell her or keep it a secret. For some reason, she felt like she had to open up to her and let her know. Something nagged at her and told her to make close connections with Victoria. "Your biological father was the one that tortured Dean in hell…" Victoria stayed silent and her lips tightened into a straight line. She didn't have a clue on what to say next, so she merely went to punch Alice in the arm. She dodged the move and pretended to strike to psych Victoria out. Then, she made her fist collide with Victoria's rib cage. "What happened to your brother?"

Victoria broke down in an instant and leaned against the table on the side of the room. She was out of breath and bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. She could feel the pain like it was yesterday. "My brother died in an accident. I couldn't find the suspect. They just ran off…" She put one of her hands to her heart and looked at the floor. If she were to keep looking at Alice, she would surely break down and let the flood gates loose. "Dr. Blake said that he could revive my brother if I helped him. So I did."

Alice made a weird face before asking, "Do you know why Blake wanted to frame you?"

"No. I have an email from him, but I don't want to open it…" she whispered. She brought out her phone, but didn't open the email. She didn't know if she had the strength to do it.

"I'm right here. We'll go through with it together," Alice offered and lifted the corners of her mouth. She leaned against the table next to her and looked over at Victoria's phone. She nodded and opened the email. Except, there was just a video. Victoria pushed play.

Dr. Blake appeared on the screen and stared directly into the camera. He was in his office at night with only one single lamp lit. "If you're seeing this Tori, I've probably been dead for over forty eight hours." He joined his hands on his desk and sat up straight. "As you may know, your stepfather was a hunter. He killed my family. As payback, I came for his family. I caught him and tortured him for hours on end. He never begged for mercy, but just to leave his family alone. I slit his throat slowly and painfully as I whispered what I was going to do to you and your brother in his ear. He choked on his words and gagged on his own blood. Then, I went for his family. Your mother had sold her soul to protect her children. She signed a contract saying your father, Alastair, could never come in contact with you and I could never kill you or your brother. So, I hired someone to kill your brother." Victoria gasped and took in every word he was saying. "Since you did the job of slaughtering your precious mother, all I had to do was kill you. Now for you, I wanted you to suffer as I have. I didn't want to cut the crap and skip right to the death. That's too simple. Too easy. The only thing left to do was frame you for multiple murders. It was perfect. I would have seen you miserable in prison for the rest of your useless life, or even better, executed." The light in his eyes faded away and his face paled. "But…you've won. The only thing left to say is I hope you die a horrible, heart wrenching death and meet me in hell, you unforgivable bitch!" The video cut off from there.

Victoria's eyes widened and tears streamed down her face. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't force themselves out of her throat. She choked on a sob before she collapsed onto Alice and cried into her shoulder for the whole world to hear. Alice stroked her black hair softly and sat there until she calmed down. Victoria stood up, got in the center of the room, and put up her fists.

Alice stood up and didn't say a word. She deflected the heavy shots Victoria was aiming at her. Victoria grunted and cried out names as she punched Alice like a training dummy. Tears were still falling from her eyes and sweat formed on her creased forehead. Alice knew she was taking her sorrow and anger out on her, but she had to let her. Otherwise, who knew what she would do.

Alice laid in bed, staring at the ceiling because she couldn't fall asleep. She twiddled her thumbs, bit her lip, tried to see how many times she could roll her eyes before she got dizzy or got a headache. Alice was happy for her sister. She was finally engaged to the love of her life. But that only got Alice thinking. Would she ever get married? Have kids? Be any more joyful than the situation her relationship was in now?

Castiel rolled over next to her and sighed. "Why aren't you asleep?" His voice was deep and filled with exhaustion.

This was the first time he had spoken to her in a while. Alice enjoyed the moment and savored the sound of his voice as it rang in her ears. She propped herself up on her unbroken elbow and her red curly hair fell down onto the pillow like a pool of water. "My mind has been clouded with possibilities for the future. I just can't sleep…"

"What do you mean?" Cas set his arm on her waist gently, tugging her a tiny bit closer in the process. He hadn't felt close to her in what felt like forever. He actually felt a sense of longing. Castiel's chest constricted. He knew this conversation wasn't going to end well.

"What I mean is, are we going to ever have kids? Are we going to start a family of our own? Are we ever going to get married?" A smile came to Alice's face as she added, "Maybe we can get a kitten or two when we get our own house…" She trailed off and looked into Castiel's blue eyes. "Are we ever going to find happiness?"

"I'm happy with you right here, right now, Alice. What makes you think we aren't happy?" Cas scrunched up his nose. There was something in her tone that he didn't like. Is she really not happy with me? Did I do something wrong?

"Well, considering we haven't talked a lot in the past week. There has been this aura around us like we want to rip each other's throats out and it's really messed me up…I don't want it to be like that." Alice exhaled softly and words started flying from her mouth. "My sister is getting married soon. I thought I would be the first out of the both of us to get married. She's going to have children and everything I've ever wanted in life…"

"What, are you saying I'm not good enough for you? Because I don't want to start a family and have kids right now?" Cas started on the defensive side. He didn't want to think he was failing this bad at his first true relationship. That would be the disappointment of the century. Castiel would feel terrible for making her feel like this if he let her down before she died, and he'd have to live with that forever.

"No, Cas, I don't mean it like that. I'm happy with what I even have at all, but I kind of want something more. More to live for in my life. That way, I can live life to the fullest while I can." Alice felt a pang in her heart at his words. She felt guilty for saying all those things, but she meant them with her whole entire being. He was more than good enough for her. He was an angel for Christ sakes. "Why don't you want to start a family…?" She barely managed to whisper.

Cas bit the inside of his lip. This was where everything would go downhill. "I…" He paused to catch up with the millions of thoughts that raced through his mind. His eyes searched the room in an attempt for help, but knew he would find nothing. He sighed. "With what we do, our family will always be in danger."

Alice was taken aback by his answer. She knit her eyebrows together. "Are you saying we don't have the capability to protect our own family?"

"Anything can go wrong, Alice. That's the point. I don't want anything happening to you or our children…" Castiel trailed off and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the dark expression masked over her face. The room was dark, but the moonlight lit it up enough to where they could see each other.

"I've spent how many years with you and given up huge parts of my life, and you can't give them back in return? All I want is a family. Is that asking for very much?"

Cas started saying, "Alice-"

She cut him off with a tinge of anger, "No, Cas, it's not asking for a lot. Does having a family mean anything to you? Do you not want kids? A house? Our own lives where we won't need to worry about anything?" She exhaled and lowered her tone. "We choose to be hunters. We can leave anytime we want. Right now, we look for any job we can get. What if we just stop looking?"

"There's an evil out there that's going to rise and destroy the world. Is that not enough reason to keep going with this lifestyle?" Castiel raised his tone and took his arm away from her waist. He sat up to stare eye-to-eye with her and huffed, "So what if Sam and Angel are getting married. They know the consequences. They know what's coming. We might not make it farther than the apocalypse. If they have children, the children will be orphans. Do you want that for our family?"

Alice sat up fully and brushed her hair back. A swirl of emotions went around in her head and heart. It was like a tornado of feels. "They aren't going to die. We aren't going to die. We will win the war." Bile started rising in her throat and she had to swallow it back down. Her stomach ached. "I think you're just afraid."

"Afraid of what, exactly?" Castiel narrowed his eyes. He nearly bit his words as they exited his mouth.

Alice had to nearly puke out her words, "Afraid of being with me for the rest of my life."

He wanted to rip out his hair. That's how frustrated he was with her statement. He opened his eyes as a fire blazed in them. Venom was detected in his voice. "You have the audacity to say that I'm afraid of being with you? Do you not know me well enough? I would give up everything to be with you. I want to give you the world, but it's difficult to when you are already my world…" Cas stopped himself from saying more gushy things. "If you want a family right now, then go on without me. Apparently you're too good to wait for me." Castiel left without saying another word.

Alice's mouth hung open. Her heart swooned at such loving words, but they were said in an argument. She felt terrible for saying all of those things, but there wasn't a way around it. She had to tell him sometime. Alice clung to her pillow and stared at the stars outside until she fell asleep under their twinkling light.


	29. Chapter 29

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Angel walked up the stairs and to her room. She tried to remember what she was doing, and realized she was supposed to talk to Alice. She was so happy, happier than she'd ever been, that she wanted to share it with her little sister. Angel was about to step into Alice's room until she heard her talking to someone.

"I just…I don't know what to do," Alice declared in distraught. The sounds of her bed sinking under her weight was heard.

"About what?" Another voice asked. It was Victoria's voice.

Alice sighed and her voice broke a bit, "Cas…I really messed up…We got into an argument and we haven't talked in days…"

Angel raised an eyebrow. This was the first she was hearing of this. Castiel acted like nothing ever happened, but everyone could tell something did. They just didn't want to ask.

"It'll be alright," Victoria's sooth voice drifted around the room. "You two are just going through a rough patch."

"Yeah, if that rough patch was a thorny garden area…" Alice scoffed and her voice trailed away. She sniffled and continued, "I-I want to make things up, but I don't know how."

Angel's heart twisted itself. Alice always comes to me for advice…And she's telling this to Victoria, someone who she barely knows? Angel pondered. She grasped onto the water bottle she was holding and tried not to let it get to her so much. But it did. They were sisters. They had always confided in each other, no matter what the situation was. Now, this woman strutted into their lives and took that away from them.

"I don't want to tell Angel," Alice calmly stated.

Angel's mouth opened just a bit in shock. She's keeping things from me now? What else hasn't she told me? Her heart sunk as she quietly made her way to her bedroom. She didn't want to hear anymore. She put her head underneath her pillow and hummed a song to herself until she passed out.

Alice twiddled her thumbs softly out of habit. "Angel's been soaring above the clouds ever since she's gotten engaged. I don't want to ruin her happiness."

Victoria looked at her with gentle eyes and softly smiled, "I know. It will be alright." She opened her arms, "Come here."

Alice hugged Victoria. With her arms wrapped around her, she wished it was Cas. She felt completely terrible for what she said, but she couldn't take it back. It was probably etched in the back of Castiel's mind by now. She couldn't help herself but to wonder if he was going through the emotions she was right now. If he had, that would mean he would want to still be with her. If not, he could go on without her. That was something Alice didn't want to ever think about.

Everyone walked into the backyard and stood in a circle. The sky was a bright blue, puffy white clouds drifted by, and the sun was shining. The prickly grass scratched along everyone's legs and the rustling breeze swept by. Dean, in his gray shirt and blue jeans, made the first move and took his place in the middle. His grass green eyes wondered around, observing everyone carefully.

Sam had a look of determination on his face. He was so focused on winning the apocalypse so his family would be safe. He brushed his short brown hair behind his ear as his hazel eyes locked on Dean's. Sam's arms nearly bulged out of the blue tank he was wearing and made sure his gym shorts were tied so they wouldn't fall off.

Angel stood there calmly, arms crossed over her chest, just waiting for something to happen. She closed her eyes and listened to the environment around her, focusing in on everything. Her black tank top let the breeze flow against her skin, cooling her off from the hot summer's day. Her blue skinny jeans hugged her curves, which allowed her to move quicker.

Alice put her attention on Castiel. She watched as he stretched in his regular suit and trench coat. He wanted to fight in the clothes he would wear on the day the war would start, that way he'd be comfortable fighting in them. When he glanced over at her, she quickly looked away. Alice adjusted her green yoga pants and top with her free hand.

Victoria was the oddball. She wore a black shirt with black pants, which would have been scorching hot underneath the sun. She didn't know how to fight very well, but this training session would definitely help her. The vibe that radiated off of her didn't scream I'm going to get better. The vibe Dean got from her was she was going to fail.

The group was playing defense while the person standing in the middle was the offense. Dean's muscles relaxed and he found inner peace. He exhaled and let his surroundings take over his hearing. His heartbeat slowed to a steady pace and became one with nature, as hippie as that sounded. Dean opened his eyes and threw his fist at Castiel. Castiel's reflexes weren't fast enough and took the hit. He fixed his jaw and deflected the kick that Dean delivered soon after.

Dean moved towards Angel and aimed at her. She reacted quickly and jumped back; she then sent a karate kick towards Dean. He took the hit willingly to the chest to boost his durability. He bounced back and punched her in the stomach. She bent over, leading him to hook his arm around her neck. Angel coughed, struggled, and bit his arm. Dean cried out in pain as she drew a bit of blood, which allowed her to punch him in the jaw. His green eyes set on her blue ones and glared.

"I didn't use my powers, so don't give me that look," she cocked her head slightly to the right and grinned.

Dean shot her a look and backed out of the center to form the rest of the circle. Castiel stepped forward and glanced at everyone except for Alice. He huffed and focused on Victoria, who appeared jittery. Either she really wanted to fight, or she was afraid of what Cas was going to do.

She should be afraid.

Victoria deflected the first punch with her arm and ducked when he tried to grab her. Castiel chuckled as he dragged his leg underneath hers and made her drop to the floor with a thud. He stood up straight. His bright blue eyes glimpsed at Alice for the shortest second, and soon regretted it. Castiel instantly remembered the fight they had. They hadn't talked in days. He missed her with all his heart. He missed hearing her laugh, seeing her beautiful smile, feel her body against his, and so much more. He missed her.

Cas got so angry remembering all of these things that he threw his fist into Sam's nose. Sam didn't expect it and knit his eyebrows together. His hazel eyes widened. Blood shot out of his nose and ran into his mouth. "What the hell, Cas?"

Cas looked at his fist, which was covered in Sam's blood, and murmured, "I'm sorry…" He got out of the middle and returned to his spot.

Nervous glances were shot around the circle and the surrounding area was dead silent. By now, everyone knew about Alice and Castiel's fight. Angel had informed Sam and Dean, but they swore not to talk about it.

Alice deemed herself worthy of going next and nearly jumped into the middle. She went straight into the fighting and threw the first punch at Angel. Angel twisted around, making Alice miss her target. Angel proceeded to quickly knee her little sister in the face, but Alice bent backwards and almost fell to the floor. Alice remembered how Castiel looked at her a minute ago and got emotional. She was so tired of fighting, so tired of not talking, so tired of not being together. She wanted them to be together. Alice created a katana and tried to slice Angel with it. She used her powers to ghost through the sword and dodge all of the hits coming at her. The last time Alice tried to hit her, she ended up slicing Angel's arm with the sword.

"Ow, you motherfucker," Angel hissed with her teeth bared. She grunted as she put her whole back into elbowing her sister. Her elbow hit her jaw, and Alice was knocked backwards with a little whiplash.

Alice set her hand on her jaw and grimaced. She could taste the iron in her blood as it erupted from her gums. She spit her back tooth out at Angel, and in response, Angel freaked out. "Oh my God. You knocked out my tooth!"

"You didn't have to spit it at me!" Angel wiped her face frantically to take off the germs. "You're disgusting!"

Alice smiled a toothy grin and backed away from her. She was feeling much more powerful now. It surged through her like an electricity, but she didn't know what caused it. Her anger vanished, and what replaced it was much worse.

Thirst.

Alice became bloodthirsty the next second and felt like she was invincible. She turned to Dean and began to wail on him, not even giving him a chance to defend himself. She punched him in the jaw, in the stomach, pulled his hair, scratched his face. The only thing he could think to do was yelp in pain and try to push her off. Except, Alice was surging with new life. She proceeded to wail on him until Angel attempted to get her off of him. Alice kicked Dean in the groin before she was lifted completely off of him.

Angel pulled Alice off of Dean. "Everyone, calm down!" Angel ordered. There was a slight tone of anger in her voice, which made everyone back down. "We're done training." Angel dragged her across the backyard. She had to be careful of Alice's broken arm, so she firmly planted her on the bench that leaned against the wall. "What the hell was that?"

Alice shrugged the question off. "Nothing."

Angel set her hands on her hips and stared her sister directly in the eye. Angel was still hurting inside that Alice hadn't told her about the fight. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Why are you so nosy?" She shot back. Alice cringed before scowling.

"It's my job to take care of my little sister," Angel nearly yelled. She exhaled loudly and calmed herself down. There was no need to make a scene about this.

Alice scoffed and stood up. "I can take care of myself." She stomped off into the house and Victoria soon followed.

Angel clenched her fists together to keep herself in place instead of going after her. Whatever is wrong with her needs to stop. She thought angrily. She sighed after taking in a few breaths and walked back over to the group. Cas had already left to God knows where, Dean was on the floor in agony, and Sam was attempting to stop the bleeding. Angel helped Dean up and threw his arm over her shoulder, "Come on guys. Let's get you cleaned up."


	30. Chapter 30

"So get this," Sam spoke up. He was relaxing on a chair in the living room, searching up current cases on his high tech laptop. His hazel eyes focused on the screen and he raised an eyebrow. "A teenage girl died from a night terror in the next city over."

Dean munched on the double cheeseburger he held in his hand. He was sprawled on the couch in a lazy fashion, with one leg hanging from the couch and the other comfortably resting on the cushions. "Are we talkin' about some Freddy Krueger shit goin' on here?" Dean questioned as he talked with his mouth full.

"Possibly." Sam bit his lip and he glanced over the article. "Her parents claimed she was crazy because she saw a creature in her dreams the night before with the description: white slimy skin, tall, gangly, sharp teeth and claws, and no eyes." Sam scoffed, "God, this thing sounds ugly."

Dean snorted, losing a piece of the hamburger bun he bit off in the process, "Dude, half the things we face are butt-ugly." He snatched his beer from the tabletop and took a long drink from it.

Sam chuckled, "Yeah, you have a point there." His eyes strayed towards the clock, which read three-o-clock in the afternoon. All he could think about was sleep. His head was pounding and he had a sense of restlessness circulating his body. He had been in the house too long and needed something to do, even though it had only been a week since he last went out. "You think we should check it out?"

"Yeah." Dean set the beer back on the table, and accidentally dropped his remaining half burger in the process. He made an inhuman screeching noise and dove to retrieve the food. He brushed it off and inspected it for any noticeable grime before eating the rest of it. Sam stared at him wide eyed the whole time in disbelief. Dean raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Dude, that was on the floor." Sam made a disgusted expression.

Dean rolled his eyes, "Five second rule."

"That's unsanitary," Sam said as he closed his laptop. He stood up and stretched out a bit. He had been sitting there for over an hour, but in his mind, it felt like forever.

"Whatever," Dean remarked and went to go throw his trash away. He finished off his beer before going to his room to get dressed into his business suit.

Sam got changed and informed Castiel and Angel of the situation. They absorbed the information he gave them and went to look for answers in the basement's library. Sam threw the car keys at Dean, and they took off out of the driveway not soon after.

Angel opened her groggy eyes and yawned. She sat up and stretched her muscles until it hurt. Her eyes glazed over to Castiel, who was reading at the table across from her.

His blue eyes flickered up from his book to see Angel finally awake. "You were drooling. That's completely unsanitary," Cas pointed out. The dark circles under his eyes were noticeable, so he must have been having a stressful couple of days.

Angel's eyes glanced down at the table and noticed a small puddle of drool. She cringed and wiped it away with one of the rags they used to dust the place. "How long have we been down here?"

"Since Sam and Dean left, which was," Castiel checked his cell phone, "five hours ago. You slept for two hours." A sense of loneliness was detected in his voice, and Angel didn't like the sound of it.

"Cas, are you doing alright?" She worried. Maybe the whole fight had taken a larger toll on him than Angel thought.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and nodded. "I'm fine."

"Have you been sleeping at all?"

Castiel scoffed, "Angels don't sleep."

Angel rolled her eyes and closed the books in front of her. She hadn't found anything that matched the description Sam gave to them. After looking for three hours, their search in the library was useless. "Your vessel needs rest. Bodies can't function 24/7. After how much tension is in the house and the big fight you had with Alice, you need to relax."

"Relax? Do you think I can relax when I think that Alice is going to leave me for someone else? When I think that I'll never be able to kiss her again, hold her close, call her mine? When I think she'll love that person way more than she loves me…?" Cas dragged his hands down his face in frustration. He sighed, "I can't relax. We're on a case, so we might as well solve it."

Angel observed Cas with great concern. How can an angel from heaven be so broken over a human? Maybe he's more human than I originally thought…She contemplated to herself. "Cas-"

Castiel laid his book on the table and interrupted her, "Look. Here it is." He pointed to the picture next to the description. Sure enough, it was exactly what Sam had told them. The first thing Angel noticed was its hollow skull where the eyes would be. Cas continued, "It's a Mukiopatri, which originated in Germany. It lurks in people's nightmares and kills them to feed off of their souls."

"That's…grim," Angel scrunched up her nose in dismay. She didn't like the way this job was headed. It was as if she could smell the blood that was going to be shed from that thing, probably green, acidic and oozing. Chills ran down her spine. "Does it say anything else?"

He turned his head to read something on the side margins. "Someone wrote here that the creature was chasing them around their house in a dream, and when he touched marble, his hand sizzled against it and he fled immediately after."

"This creature is terrifying, yet its only weakness that we know of is marble?" Angel questioned. She raised both eyebrows and almost laughed at how pathetic it sounded. "That's ridiculous."

Castiel set his head in his hands and groaned. "I guess we better go tell everyone else, huh?"

"Yeah, come on." Angel stood up and waited for Cas. He got up and trudged out of the basement with her close behind.

"Are you insane?" Victoria questioned in a loud tone. She glanced around at Sam, Dean, Alice, and Angel, who were standing in front of her. "You guys could get killed!"

Dean scoffed and mumbled, "Like that hasn't happened before…"

Victoria rolled her eyes and set her hands on her hips. "I know I've only had a few weeks of training, but seriously, you guys are setting yourselves up for failure. How are you going to kill it? How do you know you'll all make it out?"

"We're hunters. It's the risk we have to make," Sam responded. He leaned against the dining room table and crossed his arms over his chest. "We will always do whatever it takes to save people from dying."

Tori turned to Angel and Alice. "And you two are on board with this?"

"Of course. We came up with this plan together. If they're in, I'm in," Angel replied shortly. Her envy was still getting the best of her, but she knew she had to control it. There had to be a reason why Alice didn't come to her.

She looked straight at Alice, who was fidgeting with her hair. "I was expecting Sam to be the voice of reason here. Alice, come on, aren't you going to agree with me?"

The air stood still as a silence kicked in. Alice glanced around the room and sighed. Her hands dropped to her sides. "There's no way they can make a marble bullet in the dream world without me. I need to go."

"And how exactly are you all going to get into the dream world to kill this thing?" Victoria questioned. She shifted her weight to the other foot and scrunched up her eyebrows. She had to try everything she could to not let them go.

Dean pulled out a bottle. He put the greenish red concoction on the table gently. "Once we drink some of this, BAM, we're in dream world."

Tori's insides squirmed at the thought. This was dangerous, even for them. She didn't want to lose anybody else, even if she had just met them over a month ago. They were her new family, and she would do anything to keep them safe. Over the weeks, Alice had become like a daughter to her. Alice would always come to her when she had a problem, a bad day, a sickness, or anything in general. It was only natural to feel like Angel was her daughter too, but Angel had kept a certain distance from her. "And what am I supposed to do, exactly?"

Sam revealed a thin silver bracelet. He handed it over to Tori and declared, "We have enchanted several bracelets already. These are going to help us communicate with you while we're in the dream world. You're going to stay awake and wake us up if one of us gets into trouble."

Tori took it and put it on. "Isn't Castiel going with you?"

"He's out gathering information for us," Angel said. She didn't want to say more about what he was doing. She didn't completely trust Victoria just yet. That, and she wasn't sure what Cas was going to find, if he found any information at all.

Tori gave up and threw her arm up into the air, "Fine. You win. Just be careful." She peered directly at Sam and Dean and stated, "Watch over the girls."

Dean laughed whole heartedly as if he'd heard the best joke ever. He almost slapped his knee before snorting, "They are more than capable of taking care of themselves."

All four of them took a sip of the potion and laid down on the floor in the living room. It'd be easy to wake them all up at once this way. "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep," Dean ordered. He pointed at Victoria and then closed his eyes.


	31. Chapter 31

Alice opened her eyes slowly. Her head was pounding and her heart beat ran at the same pace. She propped herself up on the concrete floor and gazed around. She was laying in an empty chamber. The walls were gray and chipping, and there were no windows. The only thing in the room was showerheads and nail markings left against the wallpaper. She stood up and went into the next room, but it wasn't even a room. It lead outside. The sky was dark. There were no stars or a moon. Buildings scattered the ground, broken and decrepit. She inhaled and took in the air that was thick with death. It was only then that she realized she was standing in an old concentration camp. Cas had said the creature was from Germany, and preying on captives would be the easiest during the war.

Alice created a gun with marble bullets already put in and ready to go. An ear-piercing shriek arose from her side, so she quickly spun to it and fired. The creature disappeared, which made Alice confused. Is there more than one of them? Why did it disappear? She put her arm to her side and huffed. This is going to get a lot more complicated, isn't it?

The gun flew from her hand and skidded across the floor. Alice glanced around and furrowed her brow. One of the creatures leapt at her and tackled her to the ground. Its hollow eyes were dark abysses against the contrast to its white skin. The sharp teeth attempted to take a chunk out of her skin, but she pushed it off of her. Alice created a big mallet. "Hammer time," she laughed before she launched it off its feet. She dropped the mallet and watched as the creature landed on its face yards away.

Angel flew and hit the wall next to Alice. She groaned and choked on a breath. Another creature went over to attack her, so Alice acted fast. Alice went over to her, grabbed her by the ankles, and started to spin her around. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Angel panicked. When she saw the creatures circling around them, she used her blade to slice into their faces, slice across their stomach, anything to get them to disappear forever. Black ooze flew everywhere and splattered against the walls.

Alice's fingers slipped and accidently let Angel fly out of her grasp. Angel fell onto one of the creatures and immediately struggled. The creature flipped them over and attacked, but Angel was one step ahead of it. She used her powers to escape and pinned it down. Alice eyed the creature that was in front of her. It stared right back intently, just waiting for her to strike. Its fingers twitched from excitement of the thought of having another meal. Alice dove for the gun and shot the creature when it landed on top of her. It vanished into thin air.

Alice reloaded and chucked Angel the gun. Angel caught it, shot the monster underneath her, and the monster disappeared. She sighed in relief and exhaled loudly. "You know, these creatures are nightmare worthy," she commented as she gained the energy to stand up. When she did, the gun in her hand melted and faded into the dirt. "Alice, where did the gun go?" Angel panicked and searched around herself. Her brown hair flew around her head in a messy way as her eyes darted in every direction. "We need the gun!"

Alice sliced a duplicate in the throat. "I don't know. It's the dream world. Anything can happen." She created another gun. Alice threw it at her sister, but another creature smacked it the other way. It screeched and backed her into a corner. She punched it in the face and dragged the blade down its chest. The creature screamed and bit her collarbone.

Angel used her blade to chop the creature's head off and accidently nicked Alice's chest. Alice quickly grabbed her wounds in response to what happened and just looked at her sister wide eyed. "Saved you," Angel remarked with a smirk. She covered the wound with a piece of her shirt to stop the bleeding.

One of the Mukiopatri duplicates ran up behind Angel. She whipped around to defend herself, but a bullet hit it and it disappeared. Angel didn't flinch at the sound of the gunshot, but Alice had. Dean stood there with the gun and set it to his side. "One point for me," he remarked with a smirk.

Angel glared at him and huffed, "We are not keeping track of how many times we save each other."

Dean's smile faded when he heard something coming at him. He turned around, shot it, reloaded the gun with the ammo Alice handed to him, and shot a few more. More and more started emerging from the depths of darkness, and it began to get a bit overwhelming. "We need to find the original monster." Dean pushed through some of them to get to the other side of the field. He had a better aiming point from there. Soon, the gun vanished, leaving him to his blade and tactical moves.

Angel sprinted over to Sam and karate kicked one of the monsters out of Sam's way. His eyes lit up in fascination of how she went into things head on, and remembered all the times she had looked out for him. He knew he couldn't get sidetracked, so he thrust his dagger into one of the creatures. It was difficult trying to figure out which was a duplicate and which was the real deal. They had to find the original one in order to stop the thing from killing again. He launched one into the wall, making the wall cave in and wood jabbed into the creature's body.

Angel stabbed one, slit one's throat, chopped a leg off, and kicked another down. She was on a roll. Angel felt her blood pumping throughout her system and hummed one of her favorite songs. That's what gave her the power to do anything. When she thought of music or family, she was invincible. Angel used her powers to make Sam ghost through a creature before it attacked him. They shared an acknowledging gaze before helping each other tear a creature apart. They knew none of this was working, but they had to stall until they could find the right one.

Alice created a second gun and aided Dean in taking out some of them. The more gone, the better our chances. She thought. She scrunched up her nose in disgust as black ooze nearly covered all the walls and the dirt she walked on. Her wound was bleeding massively, but she didn't care about it. She had to press on. Bam. Bam. Few more went down. She reloaded. Bang. Bang. Time to reload again. Alice felt woozy from blood loss and called out to Victoria, "Victoria! Wake me up!" The gun disintegrated in her hand. Great… She nearly spoke out loud. Alice looked up to see one of the creatures staring right back at her. Alice cried out for help as the monster picked her up using its long, wrinkly hands. She couldn't escape and was panicking too much to use her powers. "Angel, help me!" Alice kicked and fought, but the monster wouldn't budge. Her blue eyes widened as she was lifted higher to meet its dead gaze.

Angel spun around and got her blade ready. "Alice!" She dove passed the duplicates crowding around her and sprinted towards her sister. Her stomach twisted in an agonizing way, her lungs nearly collapsed, and her heart was beating so fast that she thought it stopped for a second.

"Victoria, wake Alice up!" Dean yelled out loud. He repeated it over and over as he made his way towards her. He threw a duplication out of his way and knifed another. Even though none of that would help, it distracted them. His muscles ached, but they were on fire. He had to get to her. He had to save his little sister.

The monster dug its claw into Alice as she screamed bloody murder. Alice created a gun, but dropped it as she fumbled to grasp it in her pained state. Blood dripped down instantly as the claw pushed farther into her skin.

"No!" Angel yelled in sheer agony, picked up the gun, and shot the monster in the brain. "Alice!" Alice's body fell out of the monster's grasp and hit the floor with a thud. "Victoria wa-" Angel shot up from sleeping on the floor and inhaled loudly.

She crawled over to Alice in a hurry and put pressure on her wound. Alice's clothes were stained in blood and her wound kept gushing. Her face had a claw mark on it from when the creature struck her and her blue eyes were fading rapidly. "Angel?" Her voice was barely a whisper, but it was all Angel needed. It meant she could make it. There had to be a way.

Angel grabbed the first thing she could find and wrapped it around Alice's wound. No, no, no, no…This isn't going to work…This can't be happening…Thoughts ran through Angel's mind like cars on a highway. There were crashes around every turn as she attempted to think of ways to save her sister. "You're going to be okay, Alice…" Tears streamed down her face now. There was nothing to be done and she knew that. Her whole stomach had been ripped apart. It was only a matter of time… "Without you, there's no reason for my story…" Angel began to sing. It was their song that always played on the radio when they were little.

The weakest smile came to Alice's face as her cheeks lost their color. Alice coughed and sang hoarsely, "And when I'm with you…" -she wheezed as she inhaled- "I can always act the same…"

"Forever, yeah, if we're together," Angel sang a bit weaker now.

Memories seemed to flash before Alice's eyes. Them singing out loud when no one was home. Her getting on a sugar high and Angel would video tape it. Them at the park with their parents. Angel teaching her how to drive. Her father teaching her how to fight. Her mother teaching her how to shoot. Their parents dying. Her and Angel on the road for months and years, singing their favorite songs on the top of their lungs. Them meeting the Winchesters. Seeing shape shifters act like her parents. Her getting with Castiel. Angel being possessed. Finally settling down at her childhood home. Welcoming Victoria with open arms. And now, she lay dying on that very same floor her and Angel used to play video games on.

Angel watched as her sister's eyes faded to a dull blue. That was it. She was gone. Forever. Her eyes stared up at her, making Angel regret everything. She shouldn't have put her little sister in that kind of danger. She should have had a back up plan if this happened. She should have been the one to die, not Alice. Angel's heart shattered into millions of pieces and her tears fell onto Alice's body like a hard rain. "We can make it better…" Angel finished up the verse and picked her sister up in her arms. The whole house seemed to be swept with sorrow as her cries echoed through the halls.

Dean turned away from the scene to mask his tears. He wiped his chin and felt something break inside of him. Sam fell to his knees and set his head in his hands. How could the Winchesters let another family member down? How could they let this happen? They kept her alive for six years…That was a great record for them. Anger, heartbreak, denial of death, loss, all these things floated in the Winchester's minds and emotions like every other time someone they loved dearly died. They thought they had things handled. They never thought it would come to this.

Angel set Alice's body down and ran out of the door with the keys to her car. There was one thing she could try. She knew that for a fact.

Except, Sam read her mind. He knew what she was going to do. It was something Dean had once done for him, and Dean paid for it in the end. Hell, it changed him as a person. He didn't want that to happen to Angel, especially since there would be no one to save her from perdition. He bolted out the door, but already found her driving off. Sam snatched the keys to the Impala and raced after her.


	32. Chapter 32

After a long drive, Angel pulled up to a crossroad. She grabbed a tin box out of her trunk and went to the middle of the road. "I can bring her back…" she whispered to herself. She could easily sell her soul and bring her sister back. Then, she'd live a wonderful life. She'd quit hunting and live with Castiel. They'd make a wonderful family together…Then in ten years, Angel would go to hell. But it would be worth it to save her. Angel felt a twitch in her eye because it was so sore from crying. Her hands shook as she brushed back her wavy brown hair.

Sam instantly pulled up behind her and sprinted out of the car. He didn't even bother to turn Baby off. He grabbed Angel from behind and held her like a straight jacket until she stopped struggling. She cried and screamed, but nothing would make Sam let go of her until she calmed down.

"I have to save her, Sam! I have to…" She writhed in his arms, but didn't feel the need to use her powers to get free. That would just end in a fight.

Sam knew how she felt. Seeing a sibling die was like having half of yourself ripped apart from the other half. All that was left of any common sense was obliterated immediately and only heartbreak and loneliness took its place. "I know, Angel, but this is not the way…" He set his lips into a tight line as his jaw locked in place.

"I can save her…" Angel cried hysterically. "I have to get her back." She finally gave up and collapsed into his arms.

He fell to his knees and brought her closer to him in comfort rather than hostility. She flipped around and wrapped her arms around his neck as she snuggled her head into the crook of his collar bone. Sam's arms coiled around her back, using one hand to rub her back gently as the other clung onto her tightly. "We'll find a different way."

"Different way? By the time we actually find a way, it will be too late!" She exclaimed in despair. She wiped her tears on her sleeve before sniffling. "She'll be gone…"

"No," Sam started saying. He moved his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He had to force himself to say this, "It's not impossible." Sam didn't know how he would bring her back, but even if he had to search down to the last unexplored catacomb of the earth to find the answer, he would. For Angel's sake. For his whole family's sake. He saw how broken Dean was. All of them had lost so much that they couldn't lose another close relationship. It nearly killed them.

Angel looked up at him. Her face was red and her blue eyes puffy from crying so much. The tears on her face were drying up and allowing themselves to mold into Angel's skin. "Let's save her now."

"Angel I-"

A bark cut off Sam's talking. A dog trotted over and sat in front of them. It was a Siberian Husky with dirty white belly hair and half of the top of his fur was black. His brown and green eyes glanced between both of the humans he dared to sit in front of. All he wanted was some love and care.

Sam grinned from ear-to-ear. "Hey, buddy, what are you doing here?" He questioned in his babying voice. He ruffled the dogs hair and watched as it enjoyed it. Sam chuckled lightly when the dog rolled over to get his belly rubbed. He looked for a collar for the name of the dog, but couldn't find one.

Angel nearly collapsed by the dog and cuddled it to death in the middle of the road. The dog simply let her, and nuzzled up against her body.

Sam pet its head and wondered out loud, "Why are you homeless?" The dog looked up at him with the saddest eyes and whimpered. Sam's heart almost tore itself in two.

"Do you think he has a name?" Angel mumbled from her comfortable position. She stroked its fur softly and the dog exhaled loudly.

He thought for a moment and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Yeah. He looks like a Rex to me." The dog's ears perked up and Sam's hazel eyes lit up. "He likes the name."

"You wanna take him home?"

Sam stood up and brushed himself off. "You're going to have to take him in your car. Dean will flip out if I brought a dog into the Impala." He walked to the Camaro's passenger's side door and opened it. Sam whistled, "Come on, Rex!"

The dog willingly got up and trotted over to the car. He jumped inside, plopped down in the passenger's seat, and looked out of the window. Angel dragged herself to the car. "You have to go buy things for him. Then, you're giving him a bath," Angel pointed at Sam and started her car. She stopped in her tracks and questioned, "We're going to find out how to revive my little sister, right?"

"Don't worry. We will. We might have a few connections we can call upon if we hit a dead end." Sam nearly skipped back to his car. The last time he had a dog was so long ago…Adding something new to the household could change the scenery up a bit. That was something Sam couldn't wait for. Something new. Something to love. Something to take care of. Almost like a baby, right?

Castiel removed his hand from Alice's forehead. He had healed her wounds as he kneeled over her body. He had even tried with all his power to heal her enough to bring her back to live, but it didn't work. Castiel's heart exploded in his chest. He never thought this day would arrive so soon. The amount of time he could have had with her if they wouldn't have fought… I should have been here when they went to sleep. I would have woken her up. I would have saved her. He contemplated to himself. Cas put his forehead against her cold one. She was my world…I-I have to make this right.

Dean hovered behind Castiel. He didn't know what to do. Everything in this home was going to change if they didn't fix this. They had to. "Can you do anything, Cas?" He questioned impatiently. Emotions were speeding through him like no tomorrow, but he had to keep it all back. He had to be the strong one and suck it up. That's what he was trained to do ever since he was younger.

"I'm going to find her soul. Even if I have to walk around the earth a million times, I will find her…" He trailed off. Cas shook his head and set her body on the floor. Her touch was as cold as death.

"How are you so sure she's even still here?" Dean interrogated. This was one situation where he needed all the answers to his questions. "She could have gone into the light."

Castiel's pale blue eyes forced themselves to look at Dean. His mouth moved wordless at first, but then regurgitated the first thing that came to mind, "She died only five minutes ago. She has to be somewhere. I just have to find out where…" Cas turned away and began to walk to the door until he remembered something. He hung his head and stayed in place. His voice was low and broken. "It was my fault we were fighting. And now she's dead. I never even got to apologize. Never got to see her smile. Never got to kiss her one last time. Never even got to say goodbye…"

Dean immediately responded in a sympathetic tone, "Cas, it's not your fault." He shifted in his stance uneasily. The whole situation was breaking his already patched up heart.

"It might as well have been. I'm going to find her," Castiel stated in determination and left the house.

Angel entered the house. Sam took Rex to the bathroom to wash him up before anyone saw or smelt his presence. There was no way he was letting anyone take Rex away from him now.

"I blame myself for Alice's death…" Tori sobbed to Dean. Her eyes were dazzling in the fresh tears in them and her nose was red from crying. Victoria's black hair was knotted up from nearly pulling it out.

Angel walked into the living room on hearing those words and aimed her fist at Tori's face. Dean instantly caught her fist and held Angel back. He grunted, "Angel, if you use your powers, I swear to Go-"

"It's all your fault!" Angel screamed at Victoria. "If you had woken Alice up as she was screaming, she wouldn't have died. She would be alive. Right here. Right now. Breathing." Her blood raced through her veins and her face turned tomato red. Angel was so angry that she could have breathed fire if she wanted to.

Tori put her hands in front of her to defend herself and her voice cracked, "I-I'm sorry…" She backed away in fright, and she damn well knew that Angel would probably murder her. "I'm sorry…" She repeated over and over again.

Angel fought against Dean, but didn't want to hurt him more than he was already. She already lost a family member. She didn't need to fight right now. She didn't use her powers either, for she thought it was unfair to use that against her family. Angel's sapphire eyes narrowed and mentally shot daggers at her. "That's not enough. I don't know what she saw in you. First, she gets close to you, but then confides in you and not me?" She nearly bit her tongue to keep back all of the cussing grazing her mind. "I've been a mother to her longer, and yet she trusts you more than me. Why would she tell you about her fight with Castiel and not me? The person she barely knew and confided in didn't even have her back. I was there! I tried to save her."

Victoria shook, half from crying and half from fear. "I…I don't underst-"

Angel interjected and pointed a finger at her, "Of course you don't. You don't understand anything. You wouldn't be here right now if I hadn't sided with Castiel and Alice. You'd be dead. I'm not saying you owe me, but you should take some fucking responsibility." Angel backed away from Dean. He looked her straight in the eye, trying to convince her to drop it and walk away. She clenched her fists and hissed, "When we say stay up and wake us up if we're hurting, you better follow your orders."

"Angel, that's enough," Dean commanded and stepped closer to Angel. If he didn't stop her now, things would get out of hand. He didn't know if he appeared intimidating or not, but he assumed his position standing there.

"I-I didn't intend for this to happen," Tori stuttered. She brushed her black hair back with her hand and glanced around the room. She couldn't dare look Angel in the eye anymore. She got flustered and mumbled incoherent words.

Dean tried to take Angel to her room, but she had one last thing to say to Victoria. "You aren't our mother. You will never replace our mother. But if you see yourself as a motherly figure to Alice, then fucking act like it."


	33. Chapter 33

There was only one place left to look for Alice. Castiel checked everywhere from her room to the most secluded places where she brought Cas. Now, as Cas stood in front of the big, black metal gates of the cemetery, he hoped she was in there. Otherwise, he'd have to search for her the hard way. Or worse, she had already gone into the light.

He heard a voice from afar, but the voice was distressed. Cas quietly tiptoed to where the voice originated from. "Mom? Dad? Can you hear me?" There was a moment of silence and painful whimpering arising amongst the tombstones. "If you can hear me from wherever you are, I need to inform you on a couple things." By this time, Cas knew it was Alice. He could hear her voice much more clearly now. "I died, but that's the least important thing right now." She laughed a bit, "Angel's found somebody. I knew she would. She's even gotten engaged. I wish things could stay that way…But with the war coming up, it probably won't last long…" Alice trailed off for a few seconds. She didn't know where to continue. "I met an angel. His name's Castiel. He's very attractive because he's blessed by the lord. We're together and he makes me feel like the most special girl in the world. We got into a fight…but it doesn't matter anymore…I just wanted to tell you that in person, but you're not here. I really wanted to see you guys."

They're in heaven. They're waiting for her on the other side. Is she planning on staying? Is that why she wanted to talk to them first before she came back? Castiel pondered. He didn't want to disturb her speech right now, so he stayed put.

"Remember when Angel was playing with me when I was a baby, and she made a funny face and I laughed really loudly? And then it started to rain stuffed animals. It filled the room and Dad came in right after Angel screamed for help because we were trapped. She made sure nothing hit me and made her body make a table form on top of me. It was dark, but I could see my sister's big blue eyes. Dad dug us out and that's when you found out that I had powers." Alice giggled at the memory, which seemed so far ago. "We had a giant yard sale and so many kids came and bought all of the stuffed animals. We made over six hundred dollars." Her nonexistent intestines twisted inside of her, writhing at the pain of her parents not being there. "I had a fight with Angel too. I was really rude and all she wanted to do was help…" Alice fidgeted with her hands and exhaled. "She's so broken over me dying. She sang our favorite song right before I left. I just-"

Castiel used his hand to try to touch her shoulder. His hand ghosted through her, which disappointed him greatly. He had heard enough and didn't want her to put herself down in a time like this. Cas wanted to apologize so much, but he knew he had to get her back into her body before it was too late. "You have to go back to your body. If it was your time, you would have seen the light, but you're still here."

Alice's eyes grew two times in size and her voice broke, "I didn't go into the light because Angel needs me. I couldn't leave her, not after how I've been treating her." She glanced at her feet for a few seconds before meeting Castiel's blue eyes, "I couldn't leave you because I love you. I couldn't leave Sam, Dean, or Victoria because we're all a family. We're in this impending war together, not apart." She cleared her throat and brushed her hands against her parents' tombstones. "I was just lost and didn't know where to go. So, I came here."

"You're going to be okay but you need to get back to your body before something else possesses it. We'll talk later," he instructed. She nodded and headed back home with him.

Alice's eyes opened slowly as she took her first breath of life. Her body ached, but she didn't feel woozy, lightheaded, or bleeding anywhere. Her spirit was light and joyful, not at all frightened or angry about what had happened. She was just glad to be back. She groaned as she forced herself to get up and checked the time. Eight in the morning…That's not too terrible… Alice trudged out of her room and into the living room. She didn't know how she even got to her room in the first place. Would they really move my body? She pondered.

Silence filled the stuffy air as she made her way down to the living room. Not even the sounds of the creaking house arose, which almost disturbed Alice. As she got closer and closer to the living room, a loud sobbing became audible. "Dean, what do I do?" Angel cried. Her voice broke in the middle of the sentence and ended up whining even more. "I don't know what to do…"

"Angel, I-" Dean paused and inhaled sharply. He sniffled a few times before continuing, "I don't know what to tell you. She died a warrior's death. Even if we can't bring her back…She made us proud."

She wailed even louder at those words. "Don't even utter the words of not bringing her back…we will…"

Dean pulled her into his arms and hushed her quietly. Tears streamed down his face and brushed passed his lips. He had never cried this much recently. Actually, not for the longest time. He had learned to live with all of his decisions, no matter how much it hurt him. Tears just didn't come naturally to him, except for right now. Dean rubbed his hand up and down her back, calmly and gently. "Even if we have to go to hell and back, literally, we will bring her home to us. We ain't gonna give up so quickly."

Alice entered the room and played with her hands. She was so glad to be back and also very relieved. Being back replaced all the sorrowful feelings enveloping the household and brought back life to the place. Their home could now be happy as it once had a while ago before all of the fighting. The love she had in her heart for her family swept around the room and gave her the courage to speak. "You don't have to go looking anymore."

Angel shot up from Dean's embrace. Alice saw her swollen blue eyes and the tears staining her red face. Angel's lips quivered and a squeal escaped them before she jumped over all of the furniture to get to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Alice tightly, almost too tightly, and cried into her shoulder. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Yeah, because I totally have a choice to not die when I'm severely wounded," Alice gave her playful sass. She set her head on the side of Angel's head, for she was taller than her older sister, and brushed her hair gently. "I came back to be with you guys. No man left behind, right?"

Dean wiped his tears away in sheer embarrassment. He didn't want everyone to see him cry again like they had on Christmas day. He stood up, forced his frown into a smile, and nearly ran over to hug her. He coiled his arms around both of the girls and declared, "We're a family. We look out for each other."

Alice glanced around from what she could see and spotted Sam and Victoria by the kitchen door. Victoria's face flushed with color and tears swelled up in her eyes. She rushed over and hugged Alice's back, the only area Dean and Angel hadn't already occupied. "I'm so sorry," she wailed. Tori's tears soaked into Alice's shirt. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep…I didn't mean to…I let you down…"

Alice hushed her and stated, "Everything is fine now. Let's just try to forget about what happened, please." It was so overwhelming having everyone hug her at once. She felt almost suffocated with how much love she received.

That was until Sam towered over her and bear hugged all of them together. "I knew you would find your way back to us," Sam whispered in her ear. He was truly glad that she was back. They all stood there for a couple minutes, taking in the moment second by second. This was one of the few moments they had gotten along in a long time. That was certainly something to be cherished. Pure bliss surrounded the aura of the room.

"Doggie!" Alice screamed when she saw Rex. She broke out of the jail cell of hugs and wrapped her arms around the new dog of the household. Rex wagged his tail happily and licked Alice's face, making her giggle.

"He's a Siberian Husky that we found on the streets. We saved him, and now he has a home," Sam wrapped his arm around Angel's waist and smiled brightly at Alice. He was proud and excited to have a dog in the house.

On the other hand, Dean wasn't too happy about it. "His name is Rex," Dean stated in a dreary tone. He didn't want to get attached to the dog and tried to keep his distance. He also didn't feel that comfortable around them since he remembered the hell hounds they had fought a few years ago. It brought back some uneasy queasiness that he didn't want to focus on.

"He's adorable," Alice grinned from ear-to-ear. She rubbed the dog's belly and made it snort in pleasure. "I'm surprised Mr. Grinch over here let you keep him."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," Dean brushed her comment off and went upstairs. Everyone else chuckled and sat down.

Alice tilted her head when she heard something. She instantly rushed upstairs and threw her bedroom door open. She could feel his presence all the way from downstairs. He wasn't there to greet her when she resurrected, so she had to see him now. Alice quickly walked over to Castiel, threw her arms around him, and kissed him longingly. "I'm sorry for being an ass. You didn't deserve all of that pain. My head just wasn't screwed on right at the time. Will you please forgive me?"

Cas brushed Alice's red hair out of her eyes and put it behind her ear. His bright blue eyes stared right back at hers and a small smirk made its way onto his face. "Of course, my little angel."

Alice felt ecstatic about the situation. She didn't think it would be that easy to be forgiven by her boyfriend, but sure enough, it was. He had a soft spot for her, and she finally realized that. Her feelings wilted after letting that fact sink in for a second. That would be his downfall. "I finally understand why you didn't want a family in the first place. You don't want to try so hard to build a family of your own only to have it end up in heartbreak. Why waste your energy in doing that than not doing it at all. Better safe than sorry." Castiel gave her a look, which made Alice a bit self conscious. "What?"

"I love how understanding you are, even if it took you a whole month to do so," he chuckled slightly.

"Shut up," Alice punched him in the arm lightly. They shared a laugh, which made both of them light up. It had been so long since they had done that. The atmosphere lifted from the sorrowful pits it had once wallowed through. Their relationship healed and made everything better. She wrapped her arms back around his neck and smiled sweetly. She started fantasizing, "We can have a boy and a girl. Travis and Sophia Montgomery."

Cas stopped her before she could say more, "Travis could have your wittiness. Sophia would have your beautiful facial features and flowing hair."

"Sophia would have your cute curiosity. Travis would have your bravery to stand up for what's right," Alice responded. "Me, you, and the kids could travel the world together. We could go to Disneyland, the movies, the beach, anywhere we wanted. They would be happy with everything they had because I would make them everything. You would love it so much if…" She trailed off and her smile faded away.

Castiel kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I want to have a family with all of my heart, but I also want to keep you safe. Under the circumstances of the impending war…it might not happen."

Alice nodded knowingly and stated, "It'll be okay. We'll make it out of the war and laugh about this fight later."

Castiel hugged her tightly. The feeling of having her against him made him think of every time he could do this in the future, and when the last time would be. He hoped it wouldn't be the war. He really wanted to have a family. He wanted to see Sam's children, watch Dean fall in love, and most of all, he wanted to see everyone be happy with life. They all focused on the war, which wasn't a bad thing, but it distracted them from the present. How can one truly live if they always have their mind in the future?


	34. Chapter 34

"Do I really have to wear this?" Sam questioned in irritation.

Angel lead him out of the living room and to the front door carefully. "It's important that you're blindfolded. It creates anticipation."

He hit the door frame and rubbed his forehead. "Why couldn't I have just put the blindfold on in the car?" He struggled to get into the vehicle, and when he finally settled, Angel closed the car door.

When Angel got into her side all buckled in and started the car, she started to drive. "Where's your sense of adventure? It's all part of the plan, Sam." Angel turned the radio on for some background noise as she drove, that way, the sounds wouldn't give him any hints on where they were going.

"What plan?" Sam asked curiously. A slight smile formed on his lips as his fingers tapped against the window. "It's almost midnight. Where could we possibly go right now that is so important?"

Angel snorted and kept her blue eyes on the road. "I see you get your patience from Dean." This was one of the first surprises Angel actually planned for Sam. They hadn't gotten much alone time lately, especially with all of the tension the household had for the past few months. Now, everything was lighter and more free. Free from the stress, anger, and insomnia some of them had. Her heart fluttered a bit, imagining his reaction to what she was bringing him to.

They passed by dozens of green trees. Their leaves rustled in the wind, which blew some of them away. The street lights seemed to end at one corner, leading onto a winding road in the wilderness. A slight fog rolled in, but the beams of the headlights cleared the way. "Can you believe how quickly this year sped by?" Sam felt awkward sitting in a car with a blindfold on, so he had to create some conversation. The anticipation was eating him alive. Angel hadn't done anything like this for him before, so it was a new experience.

"Yeah. The wedding is only in a few months…" Angel trailed off. She was so nervous for the wedding. She had been to one once, but that was so long ago. Now, it was her turn. She had wished her mother would attend and give her some life changing advice, but Angel knew that wouldn't happen. Not even Death could bring her back. She fidgeted in her seat and pulled up to the mountain side. "You can take off the blindfold now," she stated as she pulled the keys out of the ignition.

Sam eagerly took it off and looked around. His hazel eyes shimmered in excitement. "We're hiking? At night?" He raised an eyebrow and turned to her. "Do you know how unsafe that is?"

"Shut up and get out of the car," she rolled her eyes and got out. She locked the car after Sam got out and set the keys in her pocket. Angel stretched her arms and yawned tiredly. She had set the surprise up before dinner, so hiking really tired her out.

Sam went over to her and took her hand. "Come on," he tugged impatiently.

Angel laughed at his child-like excitement. She thought it was adorable how a man a foot taller than her nearly jumped up and down like a little kid. "I know you love nature and exercise, so I brought you here. The only catch is that you have to carry me up."

His lips curled up into a smile and kissed her hand. "It'll be my pleasure." He knelt down to allow Angel to get on his back and grabbed a hold of her legs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and set her head onto his shoulder. "Where to?"

"There's a trail over there," Angel pointed it out and blew his hair out of her face. "Just follow it up to the top."

Sam started up on his journey to the top of the mountain. Dirt crunched underneath his feet and crickets sang the song of their people in the distance. Rustling leaves swept by and birds made soft cooing sounds in their nests up in the trees. Angel hooked her arms around Sam's neck a little tighter so she could gaze up at the night sky. It was the perfect night to do this. No clouds could be found and the stars shined brightly against the dark sky. The mountains were away from the city and the towns, so it was the perfect place to stargaze. That was something Angel had hoped was true.

"I thought you hated nature and hiking. Why the change of heart?" Sam asked as he watched his step. He had to make sure he didn't get off balance and accidently make both of them roll down the hill. That would be terrifying and dangerous.

Angel thought for a moment before she answered. A silence kicked in and left him hanging until she could find out what to say to him. "I uh…wanted to do this for you. And I don't hate nature. I would just rather stay inside or hunt." She heard Sam chuckle and she smiled. "I hate hiking. I can tell you that. But, I love you. So I'm doing this for you."

Twenty minutes past and finally they were up at the top. Sam set Angel down and bent down to prop himself up to breathe properly. All that hiking wore him out, especially since he had to carry Angel. "I haven't had a proper work out like that in weeks," he said out of breath.

Angel giggled and brushed her brown hair back with her hand. "I guess you should carry me around more often then, huh?" She walked over to the middle of the grounds and lifted her hands to show it off. "Here we are."

Sam straightened up and glimpsed around the place. A tent was neatly set up on one side of the mountain top while a blanket with some snacks on top of it sat in the other direction. There were hardly any trees up there, making it easy to feel like they were right underneath the stars to where they could touch them. Sam's hazel eyes met Angel's blue ones, which instantly formed a grin on both of their faces. He blushed a bit and asked in slight shock, "You put all of this together for me?"

Angel nodded and scratched the side of her head. "Yeah. I thought it would be a nice last official date before we get married."

Sammy didn't know what to say. Not a lot of people have tried to do something special for him. Even when they did, the happiness didn't last long. That was the stupid thing in his life. Happiness was a ticking time bomb. He and Angel made it six years of knowing each other. It would hit him at the core if anything went wrong now.

Angel noticed him idly shifting from one foot to the other and pointed out, "There's a bag of your favorite snack and some beer." She tried to get him situated. He was just standing there in a shocked state saying nothing. That made Angel nervous. She wanted him to be excited, or at least kiss her for all her hard work. After all, she did hike up the mountain to set everything up. "Sam?"

Sam fell out of his trance-like state and replied, "I love it." He fixed his red plaid shirt and walked over to Angel. He set his hand on her cheek, "Thank you." He brushed her hair behind her ear and took in the moment. She combined most of his favorite things to make the perfect date for him. That, in itself, was really sweet.

She took his hand in hers and pulled him down to the blanket on the floor. They laid down and gazed up at the shining white stars. For a while, that's all they did. They admired the beauty of the galaxy, all the while listening to the calm sounds of water running in the tiny river and the animal noises in the distance. This was the most joyful thing they had done as a couple in a while.

Angel spoke up to break the silence, "Alice recommended the place. We can see a lot more stars here than we could in the city." She messed with Sam's hand after their fingers intertwined with one another. Her hands were smaller than his was, and that made her feel so tiny. He was a giant compared to her.

"It's all so breathtaking."

Angel turned her head to look at Sam, and saw he was already looking at her. She raised an eyebrow, "What? The stars, or me?"

"Both," he answered with a smile. He gripped her hand tighter and put it to his chest.

She snorted, "Pshhh, I knew I was breathtaking. Just making sure you're on the same page."

Sam laughed deeply. Angel could feel the vibrations in his chest against her hand. "I'm so happy we're getting married…but I'm really nervous." His voice lowered to a mere whisper, "I can't even think of what would happen if I lost you."

Angel's lips formed a tight line. What am I supposed to say to that? I can't guarantee my safety. We're hunters for Christ sakes. She wondered to herself. He always brought this up. Angel knew all of his past lovers died, but that was something she couldn't fix. All she could do was to make sure she didn't die. She ran her thumb in strokes against his hand. "I promise that won't happen."

Sam's voice nearly cracked under his worry, "You don't know that."

"Sam," Angel began. She waited to create dramatic effect and also to make sure he was paying attention. "Live in the moment. I planned this out for us. Just please let's enjoy this before something else horrible comes up. We've had enough trouble this year…"

He nodded wearily and bit the inside of his cheek. He had to push all of the worry into the back of his mind so he could focus on the present. "You're right. I'm sorry." Sam kissed Angel softly and whispered against her lips, "I love you."

Angel backed away to get a good look at Sam. His long brown hair was behind his ear and his hazel eyes looked deeply into hers. Stubble grew on his chin, making him appear older than he really was. "I love you too." Sam laid back down and pulled her close. He rested his hand on her back and rubbed it gently, making her even more sleepy. She set her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat. "You're heart is beating like crazy, Sammy."

"That's how you make me feel. I've gotten so used to it because whenever I see you my heart just goes nuts."

She felt a budding sense of awesomeness. Making her fiancé feel like that was a goal she had wanted to accomplish. Angel raised her head off of his chest and got close to his face. "What about when I do this?" She kissed him gently, but barely enough to where he was left yearning for more.

Sam smiled and said, "God, I don't know. Let's try it again until we find out." Angel kissed him a few more times, some more roughly than others, and set her hands on his chest. His heart was going crazier than it was before. She stopped and giggled at the results. Sam blushed, realizing he was getting too into it and let Angel back away. His eyes looked out at the stars. "I can't imagine what my life would be without you."

"Boring. Serious. Tiring. Did I mention boring?"

He chuckled lightly, "I'd feel like I was missing something."

"Well, we're together," Angel stated.

Sam moved to where he set his head on Angel's chest. He wrapped his arms around her body as she began to play with his hair softly. "Yeah, we are." They stayed like that for most of the night, just talking about the wedding and other fond memories. To say the least, it was relaxing.


	35. Chapter 35-Year 7

Sam frantically ran around the house. His nerves crashed up against the shore of his mind, unsettling him more than ever. He ran his hands along his tuxedo jacket as he searched for his tie. He flipped pillows over, threw clothes around, and almost turned the house upside down on his quest. "Dean!" Sam called out to his brother. It has to be somewhere…This wedding has to be perfect. He thought. Sam barely started sweating and attempted to cool off before it ruined his shirt. He had been anticipating this event all week, hell, even all year.

"What? Why are you shouting?" Dean questioned. He strolled into the room and drank from the beer that he held in his hand. His black tux suited him nicely, which surprised Sam. Usually his outfit would be a mess until five minutes before the event.

"Have you seen my tie?" He questioned in a worried tone. "I set it right here." Sam pointed to the couch and brushed his hands through his brown hair.

Dean snorted, "Well, it's not there anymore."

Sam eyed Dean and put on his signature bitch face. "There isn't any time for your observations, Dean." Sam peered underneath the couch cushions. When he came up with nothing, he sighed again. "Can you help me look for the tie?"

His brother's green eyes glanced around the room and spotted something. He grabbed it from the stair railing and held it up. "You mean this tie?"

Sam dragged his hands down his face in realization of his blindness. He took it from Dean and put it on. "Thank you."

"Man, what's gotten into you? You're usually finding things for me." Sam didn't reply and messed with his black tie. Dean raised both eyebrows, "Are you really that nervous?"

Sam ignored him and moved on to the next conversation. "Are the flowers set? I know she didn't want the flowers, but it makes the house more wedding appropriate."

"Dude, don't get your panties in a twist. They're all set. Cas is in the kitchen setting up the alcohol for afterwards and Victoria is getting the food ready. Everything is going to go great," Dean replied and finished off his beer. He left to the kitchen to throw the bottle away, leaving Sam alone again.

Sam could hear Angel and Alice talking from upstairs. It was mainly just Alice yelling at Angel to hurry up and stop taking her sweet time. He shook his head and glanced at the clock. Two minutes until six. The sun would be setting in just a few minutes, which was the perfect time to start the ceremony. Sam walked into the backyard and admired the view before walking down the aisle. The priest was waiting patiently at the end and read through a bible. Black streamers intertwined with white ones along the trees and the posts leading down the aisle. There wasn't a seating area because everyone would be standing. The event wouldn't last long, but Sam was still incredibly nervous. He had practically memorized the vows he was going to say, but he and Angel agreed to say them in private. Sam proceeded to stroll down the isle with clammy hands and waited patiently. Dean stood next to him after he came out of the house. Castiel and Victoria stood idly by on the side, waiting until Angel came out of the house.

Alice opened the back door and smiled at everyone. She set foot onto the aisle rug in her short, plain white dress and white flats. Her curly red hair was straightened and sat on her shoulders against the calm breeze. Alice held a bouquet of black roses in her hand as she walked down the aisle.

Angel trailed behind her and stopped on the edge of the porch to take in the view. She thought she had to take it slow, otherwise she'd faint from how nervous she was. She had wanted this event to happen all her life, even if there was a major chance it wouldn't happen. Now it was. She used her hand to take out the creases in her long black dress. She wasn't wearing a veil, which was an agreement her and Sam made, so her brown hair was halfway up and curled at the ends. She clutched onto the bouquet of white roses tightly and sucked in a breath. Angel's blue eyes found Sam at the end, waiting for her to join him.

Sam's heart filled with so much emotion that it hurt him. Tears clouded his vision, but he quickly pushed them back. Angel looked so beautiful in her outfit that he couldn't contain it. His lip quivered slightly and quickly bit it to make it stop. His hazel eyes watched her carefully, taking everything in like a picture in his mind.

The wedding proceeded in a nice orderly state. The priest gave his long speech and Sam and Angel kissed at the end. Everyone cheered and clapped in sheer joy. Dean couldn't wipe the smile off of his smug face. His little brother finally got married to a girl he loved. This was a big event for the family, for it was something none of them thought was possible. Dean felt something missing inside of him, but he glanced over at Victoria and something inside of him blossomed a bit. She noticed him staring at her and smiled. They had been getting along lately, as hard as it was, but they had to for the sake of family. The priest left and everyone went inside for dinner and drinks.

The group had eaten dinner and Victoria and Dean had a drinking contest to see who could drink the most alcohol within two minutes. That was the worst idea on the planet. Tori threw up in the kitchen sink and Dean nearly passed out on the floor. Castiel helped them to the chairs in the living room in their sickeningly drunken state and gave them a few minutes to drink water. Alice plopped herself down into a chair and drank some more alcohol. She was wasted and started to get the giggles. Sam and Angel sat on the couch together and just relaxed. Spending time with the family was exactly what they needed.

Dean brought the attention to him and held up his glass of water. He groaned and blinked a few times to clear up his blurry vision. He pushed himself to sit up straight and began his speech. "When we first met, Angel, I knew you were awesome. The morning after the storm in the diner…" He put his hand up to his mouth to either burp or take down the feeling of vomiting. He hit his chest lightly and continued, "I really wanted you two to do it. Sammy doesn't have the opportunity to be happy, so I thought this time was going to be short-lived too." He tilted his head back and his green eyes glanced at the ceiling. "But now, my little brother is married to one of the most badass woman I have ever met. I'm proud of you guys. Cheers to you both and have the best marriage."

Everyone raised their imaginary glasses and said in unison, "Cheers." Dean sulked back into his seat and practically inhaled the rest of the water in his glass.

Alice set her glass down, stood up, and stumbled to the center of the family area. "I've gooot somethin' tosay," she slurred her words together. Alice leaned back against the wall and cleared her throat. She suppressed her giggles and focused. Alice created a toaster, began to hold it up, and chanted, "Haaaaaswayenaaaaasldkjgasoidgjasldtoast." Toast popped out of the toaster and Alice went into a giggling fit. "That's my toast. Thank you for your time." She went back to her seat and sat down, taking another sip of her drink.

The room was silent and filled with an awkward tension. Angel put her head in her hands and began to laugh deeply. Her laugh was soft at first, but became louder and louder until she looked up at her sister. The whole group was staring at Angel, waiting for her explanation. She set a hand on Sam's arm gently and said, "I don't know what I was expecting from her when she's wasted." Everyone else started to laugh or chuckle to themselves. Alice's ridiculous stunt was so unexpected that they didn't know how to react. Angel continued, "She can't hold her liquor like I can."

"Sammy is exactly the same way!" Dean commented in a joyful tone.

Sam shot a glare at Dean, but knew well enough that it was the truth. He remembered the stories Dean told him about the crazy stuff he did when he was drunk off his ass. He put his leg over the other and sighed, "Yeah, yeah…"

Victoria got herself on her feet and dragged Dean to the center. She fell in the process, but Dean propped her up against him. She played a song from her phone after staring at the screen with squinted eyes. Tori set her phone down and draped her arm around Dean's shoulder. Dean huffed when he heard what song she was playing, but found himself tapping his foot slowly to the rhythm. Tori dragged one of her hands down her face to clear it up from the water and the strong sense of alcohol on her lips. She started to sing and Dean followed along when it got to the chorus.

Alice scrunched her face in horror and slinked over to the wedding cake. The black and white frosted cake was three layers high and specially made by one of the small shops in town. Angel knew exactly what she was going to do. She immediately got up to join her sister. Alice lifted her hand and swiped a piece from the cake. Victoria and Dean were halfway into the song and nearly collapsing onto one another in an exhausted state. "Boo! Get off the stage!" Alice chucked the piece of cake at them. Angel took a chunk and threw it at Dean, hitting him square in the face.

The mushy cake fell onto Victoria's chest and into her black and white dress. She glanced down at it sadly and pouted. "I guess I gotta eat from my boobs now."

Dean licked the cake off of his lips and some of his cheek. His eyes rolled back slightly in pure enjoyment of the taste. "Now that's something I could watch," Dean grinned and looked down at her.

Sam turned to Alice and furrowed his brow. He yelled, "Hey, don't waste the cake!" He glanced at Castiel, who remained in his seat quietly watching everything. He loved observing them in their impaired state. He thought it was exciting. His words wouldn't contribute to this event in any way. He had too many questions, but he was learning slowly.

Angel's looked at her husband dead in the eye and hurled a giant piece of cake at him. The cake landed on his suit and the frosting smeared all over his chest.

"Oh, now it's on," Sam sprinted over to the cake and soon, Dean and Tori joined him. A food fight commenced. Squealing, laughing, and throwing arms were put into good use. Cake crashed against the walls, photos, and clothes. Castiel went over and joined the festival of cake ruining. He cracked a smile and a few laughs here and there. His family was joined together again, and he had hoped it would last for at least a little while before shit hit the fan…


	36. Chapter 36

"Paper, rock, scissors," Alice and Dean chanted simultaneously.

Alice threw down rock while Dean chose scissors. Dean's lips pursed and his face soured as he saw that Alice had won. His leafy green eyes glanced at Alice before he dragged himself backwards. He let his hands fall to his sides and groaned. Everyone declared in a playful tone simultaneously, "Dean, always with the scissors."

"Whatever," Dean shrugged it off and got his keys from the table.

Victoria ran to his side with a map in hand. She had drawn out their destination in red crayon. "So, Dean's going to guide me on my first hunt?" Her head turned around to see Sam and Angel walking out right behind her. Tori's curly black hair flew about as she looked around with her dull gray eyes. She waved goodbye to Alice and Castiel; they were staying behind to search for other jobs to take on. Tori was excited and frightened at the same time to go on a hunt. What if she messed up? What if she accidentally shot someone? What if she completely lets everyone down?

"Yeah. He lost the bet. We'll be with you on the sidelines," Sam referenced to him and Angel as they climbed into the back seat of the Impala. He carried his laptop in his hands and adjusted in his seat. He took up more than half of the seat because the back wasn't that big.

Angel chimed in, "We won't let him leave you there, promise." Victoria shivered. Her nerves twitched at the thought of being left by her family again. Angel noticed her sudden agitation and quickly added, "Dean left me once. Let me just say, that didn't end well for him."

"I didn't sleep for two days. When it comes to getting revenge, Angel knows how to do it," Dean responded and glared at her through the rearview mirror.

Victoria giggled softly out of sheer nervousness. There was so much pressure on her to do this right. She trained for months. This was finally her time to shine against these well-known hunters. She waited patiently as they dropped Angel and Sam off at the local coffee shop and went to investigate the crime scene. The drive there was silent which made Tori jittery. She didn't know exactly what to say to Dean. They hadn't gotten along very well in the past few months, but they managed.

Dean exited the Impala without a word after they drove up to the crime scene. He walked on without her, but held the door open for her after she scurried to catch up. He might have been silent, but he was still somewhat a gentleman.

Victoria led the way to apartment number 54 on the second floor. Police tape was wrapped around the door in the form of an X and was closed for privacy purposes. The neighbors crowded around on the first floor to see what the detectives rolled out of the apartment, but the crime scene analyzing was coming to an end.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Dean questioned behind her.

Victoria hadn't even noticed she was standing there idly and moved forward. She opened the door leading into the small one bedroom apartment. The furniture in the room was flipped over and on their sides. Pictures that hung on the walls were crooked and the glass was shattered. Mirrors were drawn over in black marker. Scribbles of random phrases were printed on the walls and some of the carpet was ripped up. Blood was splattered in random areas of the room.

Tori noticed a man in a suit examining certain parts of the room and approached him. "Excuse me." When the man didn't turn around, Tori decided she didn't want to bother him and turned away.

Dean rolled his eyes and tapped the man on the shoulder, "Hey, my partner was talking to you."

The man leisurely spun around. His thin black hair was graying at the roots and his brown eyes glanced between the two of them. His gray suit was old and had a few stains on the inside. His black beard was just growing in, leaving only stubble on his face. "I'm sorry. And you are?"

When Victoria didn't answer, Dean stepped up and continued the conversation. "Agent Barton," he showed the guy his badge and pointed over to Tori, "and this over here is my partner, Agent Romanova."

She quickly snatched her badge from her coat pocket and nearly dropped it before showing it to the man. "We're here investigating the death of Jacie Medie. Do you know where her body is located?" Tori had already glanced around the entire apartment. Nothing revealed where her body had rested before the police got here.

The man's deep voice echoed through the walls, "She's with our medical examiner. I can tell you about where we found her, if you want." He put his hands on his hips and put all his weight onto one foot. Tori nodded to ensure him he could keep talking. He sighed and pointed at the bed in the bedroom, "We found her on the bed. The medical examiner said that she was asphyxiated, but there was something else he couldn't figure out."

Tori noticed Dean had left to the bedroom, so she kept the man's focus on her. Whatever he was doing, she knew it would draw suspicion to them and their 'profession.' "And what was that, exactly?" Her iron colored eyes kept direct eye contact with him to show she was fully engaged in the conversation.

"Her mother said Jacie was on a few medications for her insomnia, but clearly, it didn't help." He referred to the torn up place and handwriting everywhere. "The neighbors said she was bat shit crazy, which led us to believe she suffocated herself. If anyone did kill her, they were inside the apartment before it happened. The locks weren't broken and no damage was done to the windows."

Victoria saw Dean walk out from the bedroom and nodded to the man she was interrogating. She gave him a shy smile and stated, "Thank you for the information. We'll come down to the station later to help you guys on a lead if we find one." The man nodded and went back to work taking pictures.

Dean strolled out of the apartment and lead Tori to the Impala. When no one was in earshot, he started talking. "There was definitely ghost activity going on in there. Whatever she got into, it was some deep shit."

Tori scrunched her nose up at his cursing. She was never a fan of it, but decided to refrain from complaining. She opened the passenger door and sat down inside. "So what do we do now?"

He revved up the engine before leaning back against the seat and looked in his rearview mirror. He didn't want to look at her. Something about their relationship wasn't right. The tension was thick, they bickered, physically fought, and more. The last thing he needed was to screw up her training and get yelled at by the rest of the group. "Whatever you wanna do," he simply answered.

Tori tapped her fingers against the seat and bit her lip. There were only a few number of things they could actually do. Sam and Angel were already researching. They had no leads yet. They could stay and interrogate the neighbors, but the detective just said they thought she was insane. "I guess we'll go check out the body. Maybe that will give us something to go on."

"Smart idea." Those were the last words spoken until they got to the examiner's office.

Sam scrolled through endless pages on the internet trying to find what could have killed the victim. Names of murderers, vandals, recently deceased, and random complaints around the neighborhood popped up in the searches, but he couldn't find a single thing pertaining to this case. Unless Dean and Victoria had a lead, they didn't have anything. Sam rubbed his temples and ran his hands through his hair once. It had only been a few hours since they were gone, but being at a small quiet café didn't help with how boring it seemed.

Angel pulled up a chair across from him and handed him some coffee. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her blue eyes looked at him curiously. She took a sip of her own coffee before asking, "You find anything?"

"If you count anything as in something important? Then no. I haven't found anything." Sam took the cup and drank some of the coffee. "Did you find anything in the newspapers?" Angel shook her head and sighed. They had hit a dead end. Whatever Victoria found in this place, it was something special and new to the hunters. Sam clicked on a few links and his eyes shot open. He sat up straighter and brushed his hair behind his ear. "So get this, the girl's mom talked to a journalist about the death. Jacie Medie said that she saw these shadowy figures in her apartment. She never caught a full look at them because they disappeared out of her peripheral vision. Jacie heard noises, scary groans, and whispers in her ear."

"So what, do we have a ghost on our hands?" Angel questioned with a bored look on her face. Another ghost hunt? She thought tiredly. Ghost hunts were not that exciting. They were the same every time. She put her coffee down on the table and cocked her head. "Why didn't I find that in the local newspaper?"

Sam shrugged. "The journalist probably couldn't post it in the paper. Online might have been the only place to write it. It's convenient for us, though, because I'm always searching for new things online." He smirked and glanced up from the laptop screen to see Angel's blue eyes staring back at him. His heart fluttered a bit just remembering the magical wedding that took place only two months ago. Sam's phone vibrated on the table with an incoming text message. His eyes scanned it and said, "They're waiting outside. Come on."

Sam and Angel met Dean and Victoria, who were sitting against the hood of the Impala silently. Dean pulled out the map of the town and grabbed the black marker from the Impala's glove compartment. He drew an X in every place he and Victoria went. "The crime scene, the graveyard, the mom's house, hell, we even looked at the freshest bodies at the morgue. We came up with nada."

"I found an article saying that Jacie saw shadow people. As long as we can research that, as vague as that sounds, we can probably figure this out," Sam explained shortly. He put his hands in his dark green jacket's pockets and shifted his weight to one leg. He had hoped it wasn't something other than the shadow people terrorizing the citizens of the town. It would take them forever to figure what the creature was if that were the case.

Dean looked up at Sam and furrowed his brow slightly. "So, what, are we supposed to go back home and research this thing?"

"We're just going to sit back and let it kill someone else?" Victoria brought up. Her hands rubbed together to get warm under the cloudy weather and pushed the hair out of her face.

"Would you rather have us go in without knowing how to stop it and possibly get killed?" Angel asked in a hard tone. "We don't know what this thing is, what it does, or how it chooses its victims."

Sam huffed, "Alright, no fighting. We are going home and that's final." He looked over at Angel, who was a little bit peeved. He knew exactly what would cheer her up.

Dean ended the conversation when no one moved from their spot, "Well, you heard the man. Let's go."

A soft, southern voice came from behind them, "Sam Winchester, get those nasty thoughts out of your head boy. I would expect those thoughts from Dean, not you."

_Author's note: Please don't forget to vote or comment on the story! I'm loving the comments and how my awesome readers are enjoying the story. Thank you!_


	37. Chapter 37

A soft, southern voice came from behind them, "Sam Winchester, get those nasty thoughts out of your head boy. I would expect those thoughts from Dean, not you."

Dean knew exactly who it was. He sighed heavily and glared at the woman for a second.

The woman's short, dark brown curly hair was pushed to the back by a green headband. Her chocolate eyes were highlighted by the green eye shadow she had on against her dark skin. Her rounded face gave her a mother-esque appearance. The woman's green sweater flowed around her, which contrasted against the white shirt and black pants. She pointed a finger at Dean and knit her thin eyebrows together. "Don't you go cussin' at me."

Dean put his hands up in defense, "I wasn't."

She gave him the stink eye, "You didn't have to." She waited a few seconds before putting her hands on her hips. "Well, what are you boys waiting for? Come here an' give ol' Missouri a hug."

Sam moved to hug her, towering over her small height. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. She was the first old friend he'd seen in years. "It's nice to see you again, Missouri."

Dean bent down, hooked his arms underneath hers, and pulled her close. He lingered, taking in everything about her. He'd lost so much already that seeing her made it a little better. He felt a sense of _home_.

Missouri backed away and her eyes locked onto the girls standing behind them. She tsked her tongue and shook her head. "Have you no manners? Introduce me to your girls."

Dean's eyes widened and put on a signature smirk. He waved his hands, "No, she is _not_ my girl." Tori shot a glare at Dean and crossed her arms over her chest.

Sam put a hand on Angel's back and urged her to step forward. His smile met his hazel eyes, which for once weren't sunken from sleep deprivation. "This is my wife, Angel."

Angel held her hand out. She grinned slightly and declared, "I'm pleased to meet you."

Missouri dragged her into an embrace. "I'm glad Sam finally found somebody." She backed away, but set her hands on Angel's arms to get a good look at her. "The last time I saw him, he was broken beyond repair in the love department."

Angel put her wavy brown hair behind her ear and her blue eyes darted away. Remembering a Not-So-Proud past was something she tried to refrain from. "I'm glad I could help. He uh…got my love life in order too."

Missouri brushed her hands down Angel's arms before letting go and turned to Victoria. Tori shyly smiled and stood close to the Impala. "I'm Victoria, hunter in training," she waved to Missouri.

Missouri took her hand in hers before she could retract it and furrowed her brow. A subtle gasp came from her lips in the next few silent seconds and she quickly widened her dark shaded eyes. Her tone softened a bit more than it had originally been, "I'm sorry about everything you've gone through. Things will get brighter in the future."

Victoria raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but Dean intervened, "Missouri's a psychic."

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense," Tori scratched the back of her black, curly hair. Her gray eyes were bright, but became narrow because of her shyness emerging.

Dean straightened up his suit before taking out the keys to the Impala. "Well, Missouri, it was nice seeing you again." He unlocked the car door and stepped into the driver's seat. He decided for the group that it would be best to go home and solve the case there before attempting to take on the monster. Another fatality was something they did not need. Being unprepared could cost another life, which would ultimately lead to the group being at each other's throats again. Dean would call the shots this time and make things right.

Sam side-glanced at Dean and felt a pang in his heart. They just saw her again. Did they have to leave her so soon? He looked over to Angel, who was the only one standing by him now. Tori had gotten into the back of the car after saying her goodbyes. Angel put a hand on his shoulder and nodded to him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He lifted one corner of his mouth and spoke, "Hey, Missouri, would you want to come back to the house with us? We could always use a fresh pair of eyes on this case. I think it's right up your alley."

She smiled. "Aw, Sam, you were always the sweetheart. Your brother, on the other hand," she glared at Dean in a motherly scolding way, "is not." She followed Sam and waited for him to open her door. Soon, they were on their way back to the house.

The living room had been lit up by a few candles here and there sitting on the tables. It was the first time Alice and Castiel had gotten the house to themselves in a while, so when the time came, they were more than extremely happy to have such an opportunity. Moonlight shined through the freshly cleaned windows, brightening up the dim ambiance. Rex laid on his bed in the middle of the room, huffing quietly in his sleep. He often wagged his tail a bit or his left ear twitched at times. All in all, the room was quiet and somehow more peaceful than ever. Maybe it was because the house wasn't full of sarcastic sassy people who loved to prove a point.

Castiel moved around on the couch in his gray shirt and blue-gray plaid pants. Fuzzy black cat slippers adorned his feet, a gift Alice had given to him after he was turned into a kitten. His arms wrapped around Alice's waist to pull her close. His sky blue eyes were glassy from the flames and focused on his girlfriend. Butterflies flew around in his stomach, which was hard concept for him to understand. _Why is this happening? Did I eat some caterpillars and not realize it?_ Castiel thought.

Alice felt comfortable in her red basketball shorts and white V-neck shirt. She rarely dressed like that on a normal day. She and Sam missed jogging that morning, so she decided to stay in her pajamas. Alice ran her fingers through Cas' black fluffy hair. It was soft against her skin, which brought a tingling sensation in her fingertips. She felt parts of her red curly hair were messed up and tangled in places Castiel's hands had been. Her sapphire eyes almost closed when she hooked her arms around his neck. She adjusted her legs as they rested on his lap and felt a tingle go down her spine. Cas kissed her softly, almost as soft as the feathers on his wings.

Before the heat of the moment kicked in, Angel opened the front door. She threw the keys into the bowl on the side table and walked in on them kissing. She smirked and moved out of the way so everyone else could enter. "Whoa, were you about to teach Cas a thing or two abo-"

"Shut up! No I wasn't," Alice cut her sister off. She took her legs off of Castiel's lap and backed away from him. The moment was completely ruined right before something great started. Now _that_ was disappointing.

Dean joined in after high fiving Angel, "Were you going to teach him how to do the dirty? The horizontal salsa? Go all the way? Hit a home run and go for that out of the park sensation?" He winked right after, making Alice blush furiously. Angel and Dean laughed together in unison in pure enjoyment.

"I don't think you know what any of those are," Castiel misunderstood what Dean was trying to get at. He furrowed his brow in utter confusion and looked to Alice for assistance. When she didn't look at him, he leaned back against the couch in a frustrated mood. He didn't understand a lot of Dean and Angel's references, which was never a pleasant feeling.

Missouri put her hands on her hips and locked eyes with Alice. A motherly tone came out of her voice, "Alice, why were you kissin' that…thing?"

"Thing? He's my boyfriend. Who are you?" Alice raised an eyebrow, but knew somehow she was friends with one of the boys. Otherwise, she wouldn't be there.

Dean nodded towards Missouri, "This is Missouri, an old friend. She's a psychic."

"Plus the boys have told me all about you," She wrapped her arms around her in a big hug, which surprised Alice. She accepted the hug and put her head on her shoulder for a few seconds. The embrace was warm, inviting, and fulfilling somehow.

"No, we didn't," Sam stated in defense.

Missouri let go of Alice and turned her head to see Sam. She narrowed her eyes and shot back, "Boy, you know I can read your mind. Don't give me all that sass."

"Sorry," Sam murmured and looked away. Victoria patted him on the back and went down to her room. He nodded to her and waited patiently for what to do next.

Missouri stared at Castiel in a funny way, almost like she was scrutinizing him under her confused look. Cas spoke up after a few seconds, "Can I help you?"

"What are you, if I may ask?"

"I'm an angel of the lord," Cas answered simply. There was nothing else to tell. If she could read minds, surely she could read his. His mind was like an open book right now. There was no need to hide anything.

"To hell you are," Missouri almost laughed at the ridiculous possibility of angels existing. That was by far the craziest thing she had ever heard. She believed in God and the angels and blah, blah, blah, but seeing one directly in front of her? Who was in a relationship with a human? If someone would have told her unicorns existed, she would have believed that a lot quicker than this.

Castiel cocked his head, "I don't understand. Lucifer is in hell. I am not." He twiddled his thumbs as his mind worked on what she could have meant.

Alice put her hand in his, "Just drop it, Cas." She glanced around at the boys and at her sister, waiting for them to say something. Maybe a bit more of an introduction to Missouri might have been nice, but no one said anything. "Will Missouri be staying with us?"

Angel nodded almost immediately, "Yeah. This case will be a while. Sam can show her around. Right Sammy?" She looked at Sam and his sudden burst of excitement as he nodded.

"Yeah, of course." He smiled and took off with Missouri right beside him.

Alice shifted in her seat once more to lean on Cas. She planted a kiss on his cheek and giggled. "So, what's the case?"

Dean sighed and sat down after getting two beers from the fridge. He popped the top open on one and took a long gulp. He was hoping Angel could answer that. What he gathered from the police was hardly anything. "The vic choked to death. She popped some pills to get over her insomnia, but it didn't help. A ghost was in there, but not certainly one we've come across before."

"Always something new for us to deal with, huh?" Angel asked. Dean agreed and held out the second bottle to her. She gladly took it and grinned. They had the best brother-sister relationship in their little twisted hunter lifestyle. "Sammy might have a lead, but he has to look into it before we know anything for sure." She took a few sips of the drink before sighing in relief. Angel burped loudly and quickly said, "Excuse me."

"We should totally have a burping contest," Dean stated with a certain gleam in his eye. Angel knew that gleam too well. That only happened when Dean had something mischievous or fun running through his mind. Now that she thought about it, he had that look on all the time. Dean constantly wanted to do something new and exciting.

Alice waved her hands in the air in dismay. She also knew that look, and she didn't like it. "I'm out of here. Let's go watch a movie, Cas." She grabbed Cas' hand and dragged him with her into their room.

Angel and Dean glanced at each other before running into the kitchen to do their contest.


	38. Chapter 38

The house was quiet.

Too quiet.

Sam and Victoria stressed out in the basement as they tried to figure out how to kill the shadow people. Their yawns were so loud that you could hear them from upstairs. If someone upstairs listened closely, they could probably hear the gears turning in the researchers' minds.

Dean strolled into the kitchen with Missouri trailing close behind. He snatched a cupcake from a tray on the counter and shoved the nearly bite-sized deliciousness into his mouth.

Missouri eyed the colorful frosting adorned goods before taking a bite out of one. her face soured instantly. She spit out the mushy cupcake remnants and tossed the rest of it. "Baby, this is horrible." She pursed her lips and tried to get the taste out of her mouth by inhaling water she poured into a cup. She gulped all of it down in no time and set the cup down. "Who made these?"

Dean shook the crumbs off of his gray shirt. "I did."

Missouri washed her hands in the sink. She air dried them as she waved her hands in the air. She put on a green apron that was hanging on a hook and adjusted her hair. "Let me teach you how to make real cupcakes."

After thirty minutes of fighting with Dean about how stubborn he was and learning to bake was a great skill to have to impress the ladies, Dean finally gave in. He put on the only other apron, which was bright pink and frilly. Victoria loved the crap out of her apron, and now Dean was wearing it. He had nothing else to protect himself from the messy event. He added in the ingredients and mixed it all. Missouri added in a few extra touches of her own personal recipe.

Dean went to swipe some batter from the bowl to eat, but Missouri swatted his hand with wooden spoon. She furrowed her brow and raised her tone with him, "Boy, ya know better than to do that." Dean glared at her before rubbing his sore hand gently.

They put the mixture into a pan and into the oven to bake. Dean and Missouri talked a bit about life. He told her of all of the events that lead up to the present, which most of it surprised her for the most part. The boys had changed so much since she had last seen them. Then again, the last time she saw them, they were on television claimed to be mass murderers. Missouri told him exciting stories about her adventures in the world of the paranormal. She put many spirits to rest with the help of their family members and soothed out emotions for everyone. That was one of the most amazing feelings Missouri had ever felt.

Angel and Alice walked into the kitchen and immediately stopped in their tracks. Angel stifled a laugh and covered her mouth. Alice took out her phone in a flash and snapped a picture before Dean noticed. _Dean in a pink apron? This is impossible to pass up!_ Alice thought to herself. She grinned, "I'm going to post this on the _Supernatural_ blog!"

Dean turned, grabbed a knife, and scowled, "You better not."

"I will!" With that, Alice scampered out of the kitchen.

Missouri watched Dean, and when she saw the look on his face, she immediately scolded him. "Dean Winchester, if you run around this beautiful house with that knife in your hand, then God almighty have mercy on your soul. You better pray that I don't find you."

Dean set the knife back on the counter top slowly. His eyes weren't wide like Angel had thought they'd be, but she could tell a dose of fear was injected into his system. Angel knew if Dean ran around with a knife, someone would be getting stabbed. _Missouri made the right call._

Dean took out the cupcakes from the hot oven. The brown delicacies puffed up over the top of the tray in perfect plumps. Missouri smiled and took them out of the tray delicately, making sure none of them fell apart in the process. The tops shined in the light, and after a few minutes of messy decorating, they had frosting on the top of each one. Dean's cupcakes were frosted terribly, but he didn't seem to care. Missouri made sure the frosting was clean cut and had sprinkles on top.

"Oooo, cupcakes," Angel licked her lips as she eyed them hungrily.

A yell came from the other room, "Cucumbers?" Alice ran into the kitchen and slid on the floor. She stopped right in front of the island and narrowed her eyes when she noticed the freshly baked goods. A frown settled on her face and whispered, "These aren't cucumbers…" Alice wasn't the junk food eating type like Dean and Angel were. She wanted to stay at the peak of health, but with a few splurges here and there. She had to live a little sometimes. Alice turned to Angel and pointed a finger at her as she dramatically quoted one of her old favorite shows, "You are a liar! A deceiver!" She ran out of the kitchen before anyone could say anything.

An awkward silence swept through the entire kitchen. Everyone stood around the cooling cupcakes confused. Missouri shook her head in disapproval, "That girl has her health in the right place, but she needs help."

"She needs more than help," Angel conceded. She laughed and leaned on the counter. Her brown hair fell in her face and she brushed it back behind her ear almost involuntarily. Most of her actions now were like clockwork. Always the same and never changing, happening over and over. Her cobalt eyes looked up at Missouri, who was admiring their work.

Dean put his hands up a bit as a defensive move and admitted, "Hey, now. She's a good kid. One of the smartest I've ever known." He took off the pink apron, revealing his plain red button up shirt, blue T-shirt, and blue jeans. Angel watched him as he fluffed his hair slightly and his pear shaded eyes caught her staring. He smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth in his signature smile.

"So, Dean, what do you think of Victoria?" Missouri grinned. She already knew the answer, but something told her that Dean didn't recognize it yet. He pushed back his feelings and held onto only the truth. It was all subconsciously, but he wouldn't be able to do that for long. So, Missouri thought it would be in her best interest to just nudge him in the right direction.

"What about her?" Dean questioned as he snacked on one of the cupcakes. He chewed with his mouth open.

Missouri patted his chin with her hand to make him close his mouth. She looked at him like he was missing something important. "You look at her like a dog to a bone."

Angel snorted while she took a giant bite of a cupcake. She nearly choked on it and swallowed before she talked. "I'd be surprised if Dean made a move on her."

"She seems like a great girl. Maybe you should ask her out for a cup of coffee sometime," Missouri offered. She seemed a bit giddy for such a short lived conversation.

Dean shook his head. "I'm with you, Angel. I'd be surprised too." Dean stepped out of the kitchen to take a break from all of the talk about Victoria. That was a conversation he'd save for another day. But…thinking about it actually woke up something inside of him. Something he knew was there for at least half of the year. Dean had given up on being upset at her for being a demon's child. It wasn't her fault. She didn't ask for it. After he let that go, he started to see her for who she truly was. She was this cute, shy girl who needed guidance. It was definitely a change from Angel and Alice, who were naturally tough and straight forward. And the way Tori looked…

Dean snapped out of his thoughts and walked straight up to his room. He needed a nap.

Angel lingered behind to get a glass of milk. Missouri studied her intently, not even caring if Angel noticed. Angel set the milk back into the fridge and raised an eyebrow. She guessed, "What? Reading my thoughts again?"

"You're afraid," Missouri simply replied. She linked her hands together and set them on the counter like a therapist. Her eyes softened at the new information she gained and remained quiet.

Angel's lip twitched and some of the milk spilled onto her black shirt. She brushed it away. "Afraid of what, exactly?" That was something she hadn't thought about in years. It stung to remember all over again, like drops of hot sauce placed on her tongue.

"Afraid of seeing everyone you love die." Missouri locked her gaze on Angel. She didn't move a muscle. "I know what you saw whe-"

Angel snapped, "You didn't see all of it. She had…dozens of thoughts swimming in my mind." She calmed down and wiped her sweating hands on her blue jeans. It was suddenly very hot in the kitchen. The thoughts crossed her mind once more, recalling it like she had just been possessed yesterday. All these years, and it still haunted her to this day. Missouri looked at her in horror, which allowed Angel to continue, "It's more than that. What the demon thought of…all of it was detailed. The demon who's leading the army is ruthless. He will show no mercy. I don't know who he is. All she gave me was that."

Missouri put a hand to her heart. Her eyes filled with more fear by the second. The emotions Angel had pent up inside for so long were strong, so strong it almost made Missouri's knees weak. "When is this going to happen?"

"I…" Angel inhaled and let go of her breath, "I don't know. And that's partly why I'm so afraid. I can lose my family at any moment."

Missouri put her hand over Angel's, and something sparked in her system. Missouri's eyes widened, but didn't say anything about it. What Missouri just saw…that was unbearable. The detail, the gore, the loss of two lives instead of one, it all broke her heart. She retracted her hand, but made sure Angel didn't notice it was because of something she saw happening in the future. "You've thought about this a lot," she pointed out. Her eyes broke the gaze and stared down at her hands. She could tell Angel what she saw, but then she'd alter the future. That could only make things _worse_.

"Only when I can't sleep at night…" Angel trailed off. She turned her head to see if anyone was standing in the entrance to the kitchen, but found nothing there. Her heart ached at the mere thought of something so tragic happening. But she always said she wanted to go out in a blaze of glory like her parents. It was a warrior's death.

"Did she say who was going to start it?" Missouri coughed on her words. The pictures that were brought back to Angel's mind…they weren't pretty. Gruesome portraits of the demon tearing the family apart, literally, was what was there. She really meant he had no mercy. With the ways he was killing them…and using Sam as a vessel only made it worse.

Angel bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she made herself bleed. She tasted the warm iron liquid and swirled it around her mouth. She had to come to terms with saying it. This was something she couldn't keep, especially from a mind reader. But to say it out loud, that was a different story. Once she said them out loud, there was no taking it back. The words would forever be out in the air, swimming around the house restlessly. They would hang over her head until she told the rest of the family. She swallowed the blood and stared straight at Missouri's umber eyes. "Us."


	39. Chapter 39

_Whoa! I'm so sorry for updating late! I completely forgot to upload it on here because I'm so used to posting on just wattpad. Sorry for the two day wait. Thank you for anyone who is still reading the story! I've seen that not many people are interested on here, but I still like that people love it. :) Enjoy reading!_

_Whooaaa, we're halfway there._

Dean sped down the road on the way to the victim's apartment. His hand hung out of the car window and tapped against the metal to the song. He needed to do something in order to stay awake. His other hand controlled the steering wheel as he relaxed against the seat. Dean's green eyes drooped as they fixated on the road. For some reason, he had agreed to staying awake for forty-eight hours before going on the hunt. In order to see the shadow people, they needed to be either sleep deprived or have their third eye open. Unfortunately, Dean wasn't a very open person.

Missouri sat in the passenger seat. She was fully rested, but she had her eyes closed. She was deep in thought about the work she had left at home a week ago. She still couldn't believe she up and left with the Winchesters without a second thought. It just…felt right to her. Her muscles relaxed against the seat, which was incredibly uncomfortable to her.

Victoria slept soundly in the backseat. Her head rested against the back seat with her eyes shut tight, eyes rolling around in the sockets. She was in the state of dreaming, was something she hadn't been in for a while. Her black hair covered her pale face and her arms stretched out over the whole seat. She spent a whole twenty-four hours just researching the stupid creature and another forty-eight hours keeping Dean awake. That in itself was a challenge.

There weren't any other cars on the road, so he saw this as an opportunity to hae a little bit of fun. Dean honked the horn to scare Tori, which was so loud it echoed off of the houses they passed by.

Victoria screamed and sat up with her gray eyes wide. Her chest heaved and she put a hand to her heart. "Don't you _ever_ do that again," she threatened him. Her hand smacked him upside the head.

Dean laughed, which brought a smile to his face. A small flicker of anger fired up inside of him, but it quickly dimmed. No one ever hit him and didn't receive payback. That is, until now. Partly because she was in the backseat, but it also had a playful sense to it. Messing with Tori was his fun. "Lighten up, doll face."

Tori crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. She repressed the memories flowing back into her mind for a few seconds, but decided to let it out. She trusted Dean enough to tell him, but at this point, she didn't know if he would take her seriously. She looked at his fluffed up brown hair and green eyes through the rearview mirror and admired him for a second. For months she had started having feelings for him, but she didn't know how to go about it. There was no way in Hell she would confront him about it. Tori scrunched up her nose and decided to just tell him about the memory. "I don't like it when people scare me like that. I was pranked when I was in school by some bullies and I uh…well, you know…went dark side. Just please don't do that again."

Dean instantly felt guilty. For one, he felt bad that she was bullied in school. _No kid should ever go through that_. He thought. Two, if she went dark side, she would have probably killed both of him and Missouri. Then, the car would drive off of the road and Victoria might die along with them. That would make a terrible news story, but then again, no one would know a demon caused it. "I'm sorry, Tori."

Victoria looked out of the window at the colors passing by. Trees, shrubs, sidewalk, houses, people, everything passed by in a blur. It was almost midnight, so the moon shined in the night sky, shedding its light on everything below it. Birds didn't chirp, and all of the animals were asleep. There were a few occasional cricket sounds as they drove by, but they were almost inaudible by the time she focused on it. Soon, the car slowed down.

Dean turned off the engine of the Impala after he pulled up to the apartment complex and got out of the car. Missouri and Victoria followed suit, only to meet him at the trunk. He fumbled with the keys, and when he finally opened it, he grabbed a few items, like knives and pistols. The song still played in his head on loop, keeping him awake in his sleepy state. Missouri stared at the apartment door they were going to go through. Shivers went down her spine and her gut blossomed with a bad feeling.

_Whooaaa, livin' on a prayer._

Dean handed Tori a flashlight and lingered there for a second. His muscles tensed up in place and he didn't move. His eyes glanced from her gray eyes to her reddish lips. Something fluttered in his stomach, and he almost couldn't comprehend what it was until he felt it.

The sensation he had missed.

He hadn't liked someone in a long time. Not after losing Ben and Lisa. He didn't want a repeat. But now, Victoria could protect herself. Well, she was probably more dangerous than any of the family combined because of her being part demon, but the most he had to worry about was her dying. He could prevent it. He could have her back. She would learn how to hunt well. All it took was practice.

"Are you two lovebirds comin', or what?" Missouri called out to them from up the stairs. She was already halfway to the apartment, and the energy rising from the room almost made her faint. So much activity was going on in there that it seemed like extremely bad juju.

Dean and Tori sprinted up the stairs and one of them unlocked the door. Tor went on explaining their situation in a whisper as she turned on her flashlight, "The creatures are shadow people. They are dark, faceless, vaporous entities that vaguely are in human form. They appear out of the corner of people's eyes. The creatures feed off of fear and eventually, if taken enough from the person, the victim will die. Or maybe the victims just kill themselves to escape from the shadow people. I'm sure that's what happened to Jacie Medie."

"Bless her strong soul," Missouri commented quietly.

Tori scratched the back of her head nervously. "There wasn't anything in the research about how to kill them. I hope Missouri can help us with that."

All three of them made sure their lights were on before they closed the apartment door. They sat on the random seats littered in the room just waiting in silence. The shadow people had to come to them, not the other way around.

About half an hour later, Tori fidgeted in her seat. She stretched and yawned for a few seconds before resting her head against her propped up hand.

A whisper brushed against Tori's ear, "You got your brother killed."

Victoria screamed and leaped out of her seat. Her heart jumpstarted and she put her hand on her chest. She waved the flashlight around, trying to get a glimpse of what the thing was, but couldn't find anything.

Dean waved his arms up and down in a wave like motion and put a finger to his lips. "Tori, calm down!"

"Did you see that?" Missouri questioned. She sat at the edge of her seat in an unnerved manner.

"Yeah," Dean stated as he smacked himself. His eyes were sore and drooping, but he had to stay awake. He couldn't just fall onto the floor and sleep. He focused his flashlight on Tori, only for it to die a few seconds later. The other two flashlights flickered before shutting off completely, leaving the three of them in complete darkness. Victoria made a high pitched squeal before Missouri opened up the shutters to let moonlight pour into the room.

Whispers flicked against Dean's ears, "She died for you. If you wouldn't have let her go, she would be alive and happy right now. You killed Jo." Dean's nerves sparked in his brain at the horrid memories. The hellhounds. The blood. The explosion.

The guilt.

He covered his ears and tried his best not to panic. That would only make the situation worse. "Don't let them get in your minds."

Victoria's eyes widened when she saw a vague image of a smile in front of her. She jumped back a bit and almost fell over the couch. The whispers seemed to be inside of her head now, "You massacred your mother. Torn her to bits. She thought you loved her, but you clearly proved her wrong."

"Tell them to leave," Missouri declared with confidence. She had gained control of the whispers and didn't let them steer her in the wrong direction. They only wanted to make her fear them so they could feed off of that fear. It was all a trap.

Dean furrowed his brow, "Are you kidding?"

"Just do it!" Missouri ordered.

"Go away," Dean stated sternly. But the whispers were still there, diving into his thoughts and memories.

Missouri huffed, "That was weak. Say it like you mean it."

Victoria yelled in a cracked, scared tone, "Go away!" All she could hear was the whispers. Everything else in the room seemed to be silenced, even her heart beat. It was like something out of a horror movie, but this time, she was living it. She scratched at the skin on her temples in an attempt to make the whispers leave, but it was no use. Blood died the ends of her finger tips as they dug into her skin. Except, she didn't feel a damn thing. She started to break down and closed her eyes. Her chest heaved and she began to hyperventilate. This was too much.

Missouri could see them fully now. The gas-like entity hunched over on Tori's side with its hands on her head. Tori freaked out fully, which made her an easy target. It was feeding off of her. Thoughts ran through Missouri's mind on how to stop them, but she only came to one of two conclusions. "I have an idea," she rushed over to Dean, who was shaking his head at the whispers. She held her hand out, "Grab Tori's hand, too."

Dean hesitated and watched how much pain Victoria was in. Worry began to fill his veins and seemed like everything was in slow motion. Her movements were slow as she thrashed around, making herself bleed and yelled things to herself. Dean turned his head and noticed Missouri standing there, yelling words he couldn't hear. All of a sudden, time seemed to move at a steady pace again and he could hear what was going on. The situation registered in his mind and he grabbed both their hands, even though he had to pry Victoria's hand off of her own skull.

"Focus on a big light orb being around your body," Missouri ordered. Her southern accent was more prominent now, but maybe that was because she was stressed out to the max. "Imagine it."

"Are you crazy? This stuff doesn't actually work!" Dean panicked. He gripped on tighter to Tori's hand and tried to make her snap out of her own internal nightmare.

Missouri snapped at him, "Don't you dare say I'm crazy, boy. You know better." She composed herself again and, as calmly as she could, stated, "You have to believe in it. Put your energy into it."

Dean closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the song in his head. It was calm. The beat wasn't too fast or too slow. It really helped him sit and think for a few seconds. Soon, he opened his eyes to see a bright white light enveloping all three of them. The group worked together to create white light that was the purest of the pure. Being hunters and helping people all of the time really put a lot of good karma on their plates.

"Now, push the light onto the shadows." The other two followed orders and pushed the light onto the shadow people. The light formed a beam and blasted through the shadows, making them disintegrate into nothingness.

Dean caught Tori as the shadow let go of her. She was very light, which made it easier on him to keep her steady. Her skin was pale now, for she lost a lot of energy to the shadow and from projecting the light.

_Take my hand and we'll make it- I swear._

Victoria gazed up at Dean's eyes, which were illuminated by Missouri's flashlight that suddenly started up again. She lifted one corner of her mouth and blushed a bit. "How'd you know that would work?" She asked breathlessly.

"I didn't. I just believed it would." Missouri walked out of the apartment in a calm stride, but on the inside she ached. There was so much negative energy in that apartment, an along with the experience they just had, she was unsettled. The fact that the shadows could get into all of their heads was disturbing enough.

"Are you alright?" Dean helped Tori stand up straight and brushed her hair out of her face. He seemed to settle down and the worry faded away.

Color flushed into Victoria's cheeks and she nodded shyly. "Yeah." Both of them composed themselves before walking to the car and drove back home.

_Whooaaa, livin' on a prayer._


	40. Chapter 40

It had been a few weeks since Missouri left and went back to her own life. Dean wondered if Missouri ever saw into his future. Maybe he would live a happy life. Have a kid. Retire from hunting. Grow old. He could probably die peacefully in his sleep instead of the harsh ways lurking just outside of the path he was on. One misstep, and he would have to face them.

The sound of the radio echoed through the living room. Sam read a book while laying down on the couch. Castiel flipped through some photo albums they had created over the years. Dean draped his legs over the arm of a chair and relaxed against the other arm. He drank scotch straight from the bottle and tilted his head back. He knew how much to drink every so often and when to stop. He had to watch his intake or the others would start to worry about him. Everything seemed so peaceful in the house, which was odd. Usually the house was full out loud noise at eight at night from electronics, talking, or the usual grunts from training in the backyard.

_Carry on my wayward son…_

Dean's head snapped to full attention and turned towards the radio. He prepared himself to sing the rest of the song.

_There'll be peace when you are done…_

Sam looked up from his book. He found himself singing along with Dean.

_Lay your weary head to rest…_

Castiel closed the photo album. Over the years, the brothers blasted this song repeatedly. He had had the pleasure of learning the lyrics and partaking in their ceremony of 'rocking out' as they had called it.

"Don't you cry no more," all three of them belched out. They drummed their hands against the table or chair that was nearby and tapped their feet against the floor. Dean almost broke out into an air guitar pose, but decided not to the last second. It had been a while since he sang along with his two best friends, and he didn't want them to stop and throw themselves into a fit of laughter at his absurdity.

Towards the middle of the song, the boys trailed off and sat back against their chairs. Their voices died down and soon the only noise in the room was the radio. All of them had similar thoughts about the song and its lyrics. They could relate to the lyrics. All three of them were men who reached a high point in life where they thought they were doing great things, but ended up falling farther down. Of all of the friends they had gotten killed, their voices carried them from day to day reminding them that they had to keep pushing, keep surging forward to finish the mission they started. The Winchesters and Castiel wouldn't die until they succeeded whatever it was they were supposed to do, or maybe it was their legacy to die trying. They had to just carry on to find out.

Dean turned the radio off and scratched the back of his neck.

Angel opened the front door and Rex ran in first. He immediately jumped onto Sam and licked his face. Sam wrapped his arms around him in laughter. Sam ruffled his black and white fur after he started writhing in his arms. Rex's brown and green eyes wildly searched the room and began to pant. Sam questioned, "Back so soon from the park, buddy?"

Angel plopped down on the couch next to Rex and rested her feet on the table. She groaned and set her head against the couch cushion. "Rex ran all around the park and wouldn't stop for anything. I almost died of a heart attack."

"You just need to run more. You aren't used to it," Alice commented. She giggled as Cas pulled her onto his lap and kissed her cheek.

Victoria sat down in a chair next to Dean and rolled her eyes. "You guys are sickeningly adorable."

Castiel didn't pay any attention to Victoria and squeezed his arms around Alice. He rested his head on her arm and looked up at her. His motion reminded her of when he was an adorable kitten with the biggest blue eyes. He purred, "I love you, boogabear."

The group burst out into laughter at his absurd nickname. Dean threw his head back and laughed loudly. Angel almost fell off of the couch and Rex was so confused by Sam's laugh that he attacked him by licking his face. Victoria snorted halfway through her giggling and snorted again quickly after. It was a vicious cycle of snorting and laughing. All of them began to make fun of Castiel by saying something sweet with a random nickname at the end.

Dean drank some more of his drink and cleared his throat. "You. I've waited my entire life waiting for you, butterbabe."

Alice went Medieval style and belched out, "Lord Gelly, mayeth I grabbeth your squishies?"

Well. That was random. But, nonetheless, Dean and Angel went into a giggle fit.

"You're my chunky monkey," Victoria added to the conversation.

Dean put a hand to his heart and scrunched up his nose. "Are you calling me fat?"

Victoria blushed furiously at his comment. She couldn't believe he just said that! _Wait…does that mean I just told him I like him?_ She thought. "No!"

Sam moved on from their bickering and contributed, "Forever is a long time, but I wouldn't mind spending it by your side, cutesy pie." He grabbed Angel's hand and kissed it in a playful way.

"Eat less sugar, you're sweet already, schmooky pookie poo!" Angel exclaimed.

The group's laughing faded after a few seconds and it got quiet. Rex ran off to the kitchen, and Sam knew quite well what he wanted. Angel followed him out nervously. Alice took Cas by the hand back to their room and whispered the whole way there.

That only left Dean and Victoria.

Alone.

Dean glanced at Tori and offered her some of his drink. She wasn't one for drinking on a regular basis, but around Dean, how could she say no? She could unwind around him and lay back. Relax. Plus, it was a way to get along with him. An hour seemed to fly by and they kept talking up a storm. It was the most conversation she had ever had with Dean over the course of her time living there. It was…a good kind of different. They bonded and enlightened each other with their ridiculous theories of life and other useless information.

That's when she crossed the line.

Dean set the bottle down on the table. He looked Victoria straight in the eye and placed his hands together in front of his mouth to keep himself from snapping at her. Dean exhaled loudly. "You can't hate the song _Eye of the Tiger_."

"Why not? I'm entitled to have an opinion," Tori leaned forward in her chair and raised an eyebrow. They both were slightly drunk, but that didn't change the fact that they butted heads a lot. Her black curly hair fell about her face and her gray eyes focused on him.

Dean's jade eyes narrowed. "You love that song. It's so awesome and mind blowing that your mind can't comprehend it. You're in denial."

Victoria inched closer to him and clasped her hands together in a neat fashion. She took heavy pauses through gritted teeth in between words, "I. Hate. That. Song."

Dean stood up immediately and almost flipped his chair. "Son of a bitch." This was outrageous! How could she live in this household and not appreciate music like they did? That was completely unheard of and unnatural.

"You're pathetic," Tori waved it off like it was nothing.

_It's like she doesn't even care!_ Dean contemplated. He scoffed and looked at her like she was insane. "At least I don't have a shitty taste in music."

Tori abruptly stood up and got in his face. She put her hands on his chest and pushed a bit. The tension thickened and the room was suddenly hot. Her breathing hitched because she was so close to him. She challenged him and his stance, "At least my life doesn't depend on music."

"You sicken me. Music is life."

"You're wrong."

"Yeah?" Dean looked down at her. He noticed every little detail about her and found his heart racing more and more by the second. That was something new. Something…good for a change.

"Yeah."

They looked at each other's lips and back up to their eyes. This moment felt so wrong, but it felt so right on many other levels. Dean softly kissed her once, which led into two and three more times. Victoria leaned into the kiss and nearly melted in his arms. It had been forever since she kissed a guy, but it was three times better than she had remembered it. Maybe it was because it was with Dean that made it that much better.

And then, the rest was history.

Angel leaned against one of the counters as Sam got Rex's food ready. Rex wagged his tail back and forth rapidly as his tongue hung out of his mouth in a goofy fashion. The sound of the hard dog food being mixed with water to soften it was music to Rex's ears. He loved the food they were feeding him and devoured it every time he had the chance of being fed. If he was lucky enough to make the cutest face ever while begging, he would get a forth meal that day. Rex was pretty smart when it came to getting things he wanted.

Angel watched Sam quietly. Her nerves were racking and about to go off the edge. Since she had the talk with Missouri, she felt compelled to tell Sam everything. Except she didn't know how he'd react, but she already had a clue. "Sam?"

"Yeah?" Sam answered. He put Rex's bowl down for him to eat and began to wash some of the dishes in the sink. His blue plaid shirt as rolled up passed his elbows and his black jeans fit him nicely. Sam cut his brown hair recently, but it wasn't much. His hair was still long and almost reaching his shoulders.

"It's us who starts the war," she blurted out quietly. She couldn't take it anymore. There wasn't a point to dragging the conversation on by starting out asking if he remembered blah blah blah. She got straight to the point, yet it still made her on edge. It was one thing telling Alice all those years ago, but this was Sam. And it was a few years later.

And it was extremely important information.

Sam dropped the dish he had in his hand and turned off the water. His hazel eyes met hers as he propped his hands up against the sink. His voice deepened in an attempt to not be so loud and yell, "What do you mean?"

"We somehow trigger the start of the war. There's no way to get around that. That's as far as the demon knew. She knew nothing else of how or when. It's just…we start it. End of story."

"You've been hiding that information for three years?" Sam furrowed his brow and raised his voice a bit. Clearly, he was angered about her choice of keeping the secret. But what else could they have done in those three years to change the outcome? Completely nothing. That was something Sam had to think about.

Angel put her hands up in defeat. She didn't want to fight about this. That's partly why she kept it a secret for so long. That, and everyone would be constantly paranoid. What a way to live life. "Go ahead. Be mad at me. I've come to terms with this."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration. He tapped his foot against the floor steadily. "I'm not mad. I'm just wondering why you haven't trusted us enough to tell us that."

"If I told you guys, we'd all be paranoid. When it comes to the time of the war, being paranoid might be the spark that starts the fire. Then what? My mistake would be telling all of you what I saw." Or, partly saw. No need to get into those gruesome details about the bloodbath. That would only frighten Sam even more. "By avoiding it could be causing it to happen. I don't want that to happen."

"So, what do we do now?" Sam put one hand on his hip and looked down at the ground. He didn't know what else she was keeping secret, but he didn't want to push her. He had complete faith that it was for the greater good.

Angel shrugged. Her wavy brown hair bounced a bit and settled back in its place. Her icy blue eyes stared at him, taking in every bit of information on nonverbal cues that she could to see what he was thinking. "The only thing we can do is wait."

"Waiting. The waiting game? That's going to take the greatest patience ever." He dragged his hands down his jaw and rubbed against the slight stubble. "You sure you're up for that? You don't have a lot of patience."

Angel smacked his arm playfully, but stuck with the serious topic. "There's nothing else we can do. That's what I hate about this."

Everything was only going to get worse.


	41. Chapter 41

"I've found it," Cas declared as he strode into the living room. His tan trench coat flowed behind him like a dress because he was so in a rush. He dropped the book in his hands onto the table in front of Sam and Dean, who were sitting on the couch.

"Found what, exactly?" Sam questioned. He raised an eyebrow and glanced over the page in the book, but it was all in a different language. The picture next to it appeared to be a sword with a sickle protrusion at the end of the blade. I was an odd looking thing, but if it could help, he was all up for it.

Cas sat down across from them and replied, "The sword Perseus used to…" -he used his fingers in air quotes- "_kill_ Medusa. It's an ancient sword, but it holds a lot of power."

"What do you mean _kill_ Medusa?" Dean set his beer bottle down and mimicked his actions. His emerald eyes met Cas' and furrowed his brow a bit. "Did that not happen?"

"No. He killed another gorgon. Medusa is a beautiful snake Goddess that isn't carrying this charm of bad luck. She carries a mask with her to protect herself from the men staring in awe. They don't literally turn into stone." Castiel stopped himself before he could say anymore. Talking about different Gods and Goddesses got him riled up sometimes and he would not shut up for hours if he didn't stop himself. It was an exhilarating topic! Just to think of all the humans that had no idea what was truth and what wasn't was really fascinating and-

"The point is you, know where it's located, right?" Sam brought up, averting back to the original conversation. He put his hands together and messed around with his wedding band. That's been a nervous habit of his for a while, and he couldn't seem to shake it. This war…was something different. They were going to need all the help they could get without getting anyone else killed.

Cas rolled his eyes. He seemed so done with everyone already, and it hadn't even been two minutes. He had been spending too much time with Alice and her sass. "Of course I know where it is. I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't."

"Great, so let's go," Angel spoke up from the other chair. She was sitting quietly until she was intrigued by this new information. She could hear the adventure calling her name. It also gave her the excuse to leave the house and kick some ass. But, hey, she wasn't going to say that she missed doing that on a daily basis. She almost stood up until she saw Cas give her a disapproving look. That really confused her. She was usually giving Cas the look, not the other way around. "What are we waiting for? I can get in and out without a problem."

When Castiel didn't answer, Alice cocked her head. She was sitting on the floor next to Victoria while playing a game, but she stopped to join in on the conversation. "What? Can we not use our powers or something?"

Castiel rubbed his chin tiredly and repeatedly, not even reaching out to answer her question. He knew sometimes it wasn't simple, but this was a death trap. Literally.

"Well…damn. There goes that idea," Alice huffed sadly. She crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall. Things like this never went well. From the way Cas was acting, she knew this was really bad. Alice contemplated while looking over the group. _Why can't things ever be simple? We should have earned three times more good karma than bad. Why can't we just catch a break?_

Tori bit her lip before suggesting, "We can go in together. Split up in pairs."

"I call Dean," Cas called out in his low tone of voice.

Dean found that a little…odd. He was kind of hoping he would be paired up with Victoria. After their…fling a couple weeks ago, if that's what you would call it, his feelings for her blossomed. It was a shock to him. Usually, he wouldn't have feelings for another girl after what had happened with Lisa. But…he took a chance. As fate would have it, it was working out so far. He found the need to ask, "Why?"

"I gripped you tight and raised you from perdition. I think you watching my back could really work out for this mission."

Dean turned to glance at his brother. Sam registered that expression of worry of separation, but there was nothing they could do. Sticking together in a dangerous place like that could mean someone getting stuck in the back and getting killed. Pairs run faster. Sam put his hand on his brother's back, "Don't worry. We've got this handled." He smiled a bit and added, "I'll keep Angel safe. I know you worry about her."

Dean chuckled lightly, "Yeah, well, I think she can handle herself. More like she'll protect you, Sammy."

Angel beamed at that statement. Not only have her and Dean become closer in the last year, but also look out for each other a lot more. They were the dynamic duo of madness and badassery. Sure. That's definitely a word.

Alice's blue eyes locked onto Tori's gray ones. She slyly smiled and declared, "I guess you're stuck with me."

After gathering the needed supplies, everyone met up in the living room. Cas stood in the small empty area and beckoned the rest of the group to form a circle. "Hold hands and we'll all go."

The group joined hands, but when Sam touched Dean's hand, he quickly retracted it. Sam knit his eyebrows together and frowned. "Dude, why is your hand all sticky?"

"I had some nachos. Just come on, man. Suck it up." Dean replied in a frustrated tone. He didn't have time to wash his hands. Even if he did, they would probably get dirty within the first five minutes anyway. No point in wasting good soap.

Sam took his older brother's hand and Castiel took off. The teleportation from one place to another sickened all of their stomachs and put them in a daze. The human mind wasn't capable of things like that and be okay with it.

Dean set his hand on the first thing closest to him. His hands landed on a dirty stone wall that was damp from water. He took his hand away and wiped the dirt off onto his pants. "Well…where is it?" He cringed and glanced around the dark tunnel they were in. Torches lit up immediately on their arrival, so they could only see five feet in every direction.

"Right here." Castiel pulled a brick from the wall and pushed another in. He stood back and a part of the wall moved to make a passageway into another tunnel with stairs leading down into a dark abyss. "This temple was built for angels, Gods, and Goddesses to store their belongings they don't want out in the real world. Think of it like a precious bank vault. No one can use their powers in here because a spell was cast preventing it. It makes it much more difficult for evil beings to access the items quicker."

Alice pulled out three walkie talkies and handed one to Sam and Dean. "We're going to find each other using these. They can have a pretty good range to function well, so if something happens or if you find the sword, tell us."

Alice stepped forward onto the stair case with a flashlight in hand until Castiel held her back. "Wait. Just so everyone knows, there's booby traps down there. So be careful."

Dean and Angel giggled like two school children on the playground. Sam glanced at them disapprovingly and questioned, "Really, you two?" The two immature adults high fived one another and descended down the stairs.

Minutes seemed to have passed as they reached the end of the stairs and started down the hall. All that could be seen were the flashlights' beams in different directions. For the most part, the quiet sounds of their breathing met their ears and nothing else. The passageways were cold and salted with dust here and there. It was good that none of them currently had allergies. Rooms varied in sizes, alternating back and forth between large and small. Angel became jittery when around the small hallways until Alice put a hand on her shoulder and reassured her she was going to be alright. A few noises sounded off and echoed against the walls like rats scurrying across the floor and bugs chirping in the distance.

A loud eruption of noise made all of them almost jump out of their skin and turn around. A giant stone wall fell from the ceiling and locked them in the hall, leaving them to only move forward. There was no escape now. No way to turn back.

Whose genius plan was it to come here?

"We'll be alright. This temple was built for the best of the best. We'll make it out. There has to be an exit somewhere around here. We just need to find the sword first," Castiel reassured everyone in a calm tone. He lead the group down the hall in an effort to keep moving. He didn't want them to end up tired or worn out already. They still had a long way to go.

"If I knew this was a death mission, then I would have stocked up a lot more," Tori commented and trudged behind Alice. Clearly she didn't get the memo.

Everything they did was dangerous.

A deep grumble echoed off of the walls far down the hall.

The group's muscles tightened and their jaws clenched. The slight shiver of fear shook some of them, and the others had to calm their racing hearts. Whatever made that noise, it _definitely_ sounded bigger and nastier than anything they have ever fought.

Sam pointed his flashlight down the hall and tried to see what the thing was, but failed. The light barely made it ten feet ahead before stopping. The darkness seemed to swallow the light whole from then on like a black hole. "Cas, did you forget to tell us something important?" He asked in a fake clueless voice.

Castiel could sense his sarcastic voice and continued on. Sweat started dripping off of his brow and he brushed back his damp hair. Even his vessel's nerves were ready to jump off a cliff. "I thought it was part of the myth…But there's a giant golem here that will kill anyone trying to steal the items hidden around."

Dean and Angel groaned simultaneously, "That would have been great to know earlier." They immediately glared at each other and pointed. "Stop doing that!" Both furrowed their brows and frowned. "Stop! I mean it!"

Sam thought it was completely childish. It seemed like they had a cycle of saying the same things at the same time every month like a menstruation cycle. Except this made them even more childish than ever. He got in the middle of the two and yelled in a whisper, "Stop it! We need to figure this out." He turned to Castiel. "How do we stop the golem?"

Cas shook his head. "We don't. We run and hope for the best. The golem was enchanted to be unstoppable. We have no chance against it."

Alice sighed and hit her head gently in frustration. She noticed she broke out into a cold sweat and put her hair up in a ponytail. "Cas, you should have told all of us this before we went in here."

"If I told you, none of you would have come down here. We need this sword and I can't do it alone."

They all understood and walked on hesitantly. If that thing heard them coming, he would charge at them. There would be nowhere to run, so they would have to just accept death. No one wanted that. That was a terrible way to go out.

The group ended up finding a room branching off into five different halls. They broke off in their groups of two and picked a hall. If they reached a dead end or something, the pair would turn back and go down one of the remaining halls. Which, unfortunately, Castiel and Dean had to do.

Alice and Tori tiptoed down the hall they entered. Both of them were on edge and determined to find the sword, but couldn't help to remember that there was something indestructible lurking around the halls. They spotted a few rooms here and there, but glanced into them and found out they were empty. Overall, the hall seemed to go on forever. Darkness. Stone, moldy walls. Cold air. The hint of a carcass lying around. Yup. This was definitely something out of a scary movie. Alice should have known better. Scary temples? That's where people always died! How could she think this was a good idea?

The pair walked into a big room with tables scattered about. Alice wandered to one of the tables and found nothing. She moved onto the next, and the next, but all she could find were rat droppings and dust. Victoria examined the other side of the room and found a few skulls on the tables. Other bones adorned the table and freaked Victoria out. A pile of jagged, broken bones sat in the corner of the room. Both girls went to inspect it, just to estimate how many people have died in this room alone. They were terrified to guess that at least ten people perished there. Alice's head pounded as thoughts poured in; Victoria's heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

Large footsteps came from the unknown hallway ahead of them and both girls freaked out. None of them knew what to do or where to hide, simply because there wasn't a place to. If they turned off their flashlights, they would be in the pitch blackness. The golem could accidentally bump into them, or worse, see in the dark, and they would be screwed either way. Victoria made confused faces at Alice while Alice moved her arms around, gesturing that she had no clue what to do next. They could either cower behind the pile of bones, which were probably the victims of the golem's wrath, or run down the hall they came from.

They chose the latter.

He was closer than they had originally thought. The golem heard their footsteps as they hit the hard stone floor and caught up to them in a flash. He grabbed Tori by her backpack. She screamed and quickly slid out of the backpack and out of the golem's grasp. She took Alice by the hand and sprinted down the hall. He crushed the bag without effort and ran after them. His big, moss covered, gray stoned body almost didn't fit through the small hall areas, but he managed to get passed it. He didn't have a mouth, but he had eyes as black as the darkness within the temple. The only downside for him was he couldn't see in the dark. The golem had been sleeping for thousands of years before the group came along. They were the first stupidly brave people to step foot in the temple.

Alice pushed the button on the walkie talkie and yelled, "Someone, help! We need ba-" She tripped and fell, skinning her knees in the process. She fought baddies all of the time in shorts, but this did not seem like the time and place to be wearing them. The walkie talkie slid out of her hand, ricochet off of the wall, and slid behind them. "No! It's the only one we have!"

Tori stopped her from going to grab it and picked her up by the arm. "No time to get it!" She looked up to see the golem not too far behind. "Run!" She dragged Alice and continued on their journey to safety.

The golem's foot crushed the walkie talkie as he passed by, leaving it in shambles.


	42. Chapter 42

"Alice? Alice, can you hear me?" Angel worriedly spoke through the walkie talkie. Something was wrong. _Very_ wrong. She raked her hands through her hair and closed her eyes as she held the talkie to her forehead in frustration.

Sam put his hand on Angel's back and urged her down the hall. "Let's go find them." They left, turned down the hall the girls had stepped into, and continued on. Sam's nerves were going crazy, but he had to stay strong. If they both freaked out, things would not go well.

Angel's blue eyes widened when she found the broken talkie on the floor crushed to a thousand little pieces and blotches of blood next to it. Fear and anger mixed in her chest; it felt like a hot fire burning her insides and the fear only ignited it.

She almost fell on her knees before Sam spoke, "It's not enough to know she's dead." He looked around with the flashlight and felt his gut tighten. They had to protect the girls, but they also had to help find the sword so they could get the hell out of there. "They're alive. I'm sure of it."

A scream echoed through the halls and Angel took off running towards it.

"Angel!" Sam yelled and sprinted after her. "Angel, be careful!"

Alice and Victoria stopped in a small room and realized it was a dead end. They turned around on their heels, but a wall moved and closed the entrance. "No!" Tori screamed and tried to get out before it sealed itself, but it was no use.

They were trapped.

Alice put her hands on her head as she tried to compose herself. She panted heavily and her blue eyes glanced around the room in one sweep. The room itself looked like it was made of dense concrete walls. The sounds of their breathing and feet scraping against the floor bounced off the walls. Sweat dropped down the side of her face and messed up her eyeliner to make her appear like a raccoon. She dropped the backpack onto the floor. "God damn it…"

"Alice, where are you?" Angel screamed from the hall. Her voice was strained and full of fear.

"Angel?" Alice pounded her fists against the concrete door. It had hurt her hands, but she had to make a lot of noise, otherwise they would pass by without knowing. "We're okay! We're in here!"

"Alice!" She panicked and kept moving on. Angel shrieked loudly.

"Angel!" Sam called out and the sound of his feet pattering against the ground could be heard. Soon after, everything became quiet once again.

Alice's heart jumpstarted. If the golem got her…she was going to die. They would never get out of there. She would suffer without her sister. Silence rang in her ears. There were no footsteps, talking, voices, fighting. Nothing. Alice screamed and hit the wall repeatedly, "Angel? Angel, are you alright?" She threw her body against the concrete in an attempt to knock it over. "Can you hear me? Can anyone out there hear me?" She waited for a minute or two before sliding down the wall. Alice landed on the floor and her heart wouldn't calm down. The greatest pain hit her and she cried out in pain. "Is anyone out there? Hello?" She wiped her face from the sweat and listened. "Is anybody listening to me? We're not dead! We're not…dead…" Her voice broke at the last sentence and she put her head in her hands.

Tori plopped down next to her and rummaged through the backpack. She bandaged Alice's knees while she tried to piece herself back together.

Dean's voice came through the walkie talkie in Sam's hands. It was scratchy at first, but became clear after a second. "Sam, is everything alright?"

Silence.

He stripped himself of his backpack and bent down next to Angel. "Yeah, but Alice and Tori are missing. Their talkie is broken."

"Son of a bitch."

Angel snatched the talkie from Sam and answered, "They're my responsibility and I'll make sure they get out." She accidently twitched and almost cried out in pain.

Sam put pressure on her leg. "You're wounded. You can't stay here."

"Wait, she's hurt?" Dean questioned through the talkie. A slight strain in his voice could be heard.

Angel rolled her eyes. This wasn't a major wound and she didn't want to cry about it. "Yeah. I accidentally stepped into a trap and got an arrow through my leg as a reward."

Dean huffed, "It could have been worse."

"Find the sword so we can get out of here. We'll look for the girls," Sam replied and hooked the talkie onto his belt. He took out some bandages and gently held her leg. "I'm going to take out the arrow, alright?"

Angel panted and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She put her hair to the side and prepared herself. She nodded for him to go ahead and he ripped the arrow out of her leg. Pain jolted up her leg and into her side. She grit her teeth together and muffled her cries with her hands. Blood flowed from the injury, soaking her blue jeans in the process. She could feel it drip down her leg and into her boots. Once it was over, she exhaled heavily. "It wasn't that bad."

"I need to put alcohol on it so it doesn't become infected."

Angel furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes. "You're kidding me, right?"

Sam shook his head and took out a little bottle of alcohol from the bag. They brought tiny bottles just in case something drastic like this happened. It never hurt to be prepared. He dowsed Angel's open wound and watched her writhe in pain. He didn't want to make her go through that, but there was nothing else he could do. The infection would have been worse. He wrapped her laceration and had her stand up. He helped her up, but she didn't hang onto him. She latched onto the wall instead.

"Shit," Angel winced and set one hand on the wall to balance herself. She should have known to be more careful. _God damn booby traps…_ She almost felt the need to giggle again, but now was not the time. Sam would think she was crazy.

Sam took her hand and nudged her towards him. "Lean on me. I'll support you."

She put her other hand against his chest to hold him back before he pulled her to him fully. Angel looked up at him and into his hazel eyes that revealed worry. She winced once more and said, "Sam, I don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden. You're my wife. You have got to trust me to take care of you when you're hurt or sick. You can lean on me like you do to Alice."

Angel thought for a moment and fought with her pain. _I…I'm going to get him killed…_ She flinched from the thought and turned away. Something was off. Not just about her blood levels, but something was off with the atmosphere. The air suddenly became denser, if that was possible. A ringing arose in her ears, only to find out seconds later that it wasn't a ringing at all.

Something was charging at them.

Sam jerked his head towards the direction the noise originated from. He wrapped Angel's arm around his broad shoulder and helped her quietly go in the opposite direction. She winced from time to time, but Sam thought she was taking it better than most people would have. They weren't moving as fast as they should have, and Sam's stomach twisted in knots. There was no way to fight the golem and win, and only being capable of moving so fast put them in a tough spot.

Sam started moving faster than Angel. Her feet skidded across the floor like a broom sweeping the floor. Angel's hand reached for the gun she had holstered in the back of her pants and started to slow down. "Sam, just let me go. I can distract it while you run."

"No! Are you crazy?"

Angel snorted, "Jury's out." The sound was closer now. Hard footsteps were audible and the golem slammed its fists against the walls it passed. No doubt, it was angry. It was gaining up on them by the second, and Angel knew she had to do something about it. Sam had to make it out alive. He still had to go find Alice and Victoria. _I'd rather die at the hands of a golem than Sam…_

"I'm _not_ leaving you," Sam reiterated stressfully.

The golem was too close.

Sam heard it grunt and lift its arm, so he jumped behind Angel to shield her. The creature's rock hard hand collided with Sam's rib cage and flung both of them into the wall down the hall. The gun flew out of her hand and accidentally fired once it hit the floor. The bullet hit the wall and triggered a trap. Fire bursted from the walls like water from a fire hose close to the golem's face. It became distracted and flailed around helplessly. It screamed in its own language and almost fell over until it realized we were still there. The fire stopped pouring from the walls and made it easier to see the creature. It's face was burnt black and the moss that was once on it fell to the floor in ashes.

Angel took most of the impact on the wall, but she slid down and landed on Sam. Both groaned in unison. The jolting pain soared up her stomach to the side of her face and felt like lightning going through her system. Sweat slid down her face and onto the cuts on her cheek, which stung of contamination. Angel's leg twisted and a pain shot up into her side. She yelped and wanted to get up, but it seemed impossible. The golem scowled and scraped its fist on the wall on the way down to punch them again. "No!" Sam yelled and tried to roll over, except there was no room to do so. Angel stayed in place and wanted to take the impact this time. Another blow to the rib cage could kill Sam. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and Sam began to freak out.

"Hey, Stonehenge, over here!" Victoria screamed from down the hall.

The golem spun around and charged towards the voice. The weight of the stone feet pounding on the floor went farther away and it became quiet.

Sam and Angel sighed in relief. They chuckled a bit before helping each other up. The gun that went off earlier sat further down the hallway floor. Thankfully, the bullet didn't bounce off of the walls and hit either of them. "Are you okay?" Angel asked. She brushed Sam's hair out of his hazel eyes and set one hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

He winced and put a hand to his rib cage. "Yeah. I think I broke a rib, though. You?"

Angel nodded. _The last thing I did before separating from my sister was fight with Dean. I didn't even wish her luck or to stay safe. What kind of sister am I?_ She thought in distress. She set her head on his chest in a long hug to celebrate being alive. He was sweaty, but was warm and still smelled of cinnamon. _My last words to my husband would be 'Jury's out.' I literally said I was crazy. That's it. I told him to leave me behind because I was going to get him killed. That is what he would remember me for. His crazy wife. _

They waited there for a minute before getting ready to walk back in the opposite direction. Tori and Alice were close, but they led the golem in the same direction. That would be a problem.

Alice and Victoria sprinted back towards them and embraced them in a giant group hug. Sam and Angel groaned once more from the pain. It would take a while for their recovery, but at least the girls were all right. Both would have gone to great lengths to make sure the girls would be alive and well.

Alice supported her sister and glanced at her leg. Her eyes widened and gazed into her eyes. Angel's eyes were dulling by the minute, but she had to be okay. They just had to get out of there first. Alice had to reassure herself that everything was going to be just fine. She was freaking out more than her sister was. "Don't do anything stupid like that again…You could have gotten yourself killed!" She exclaimed, referring to her wounded leg.

Angel coughed a bit and wiped her face of sweat. Her breathing had calmed down and returned to normal. "It would have been worth it if it meant finding you safe and sound."

"I'm just glad we found a way to trap the big guy over there." Victoria pointed in the direction they were supposed to go. "We found a way to lock him in a room. Sealed tight. He's not finding a way out of there soon." She smiled triumphantly and leaned against the wall. All of them seemed worn out from their adventure.

The sad thing was they still needed to find the sword. Otherwise, the adventure was a flop.

Sam calmed his breathing down and took off his red flannel. He wore a black T-shirt underneath that he was sweating through at an incredibly fast rate. _Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wear a plaid shirt…_ He used the walkie talkie. "Alright, Dean, we found 'em."


	43. Chapter 43

_AN: Please vote or comment! I'd love to hear thoughts on this for those who are still reading. Thank you for making it this far! This is officially the end of year 7. Enjoy. _

"Alright, Dean, we found 'em."

A small smile formed on Dean's lips and he rested the talkie on his chest for a second. He knew Sam and Angel would find them. He actually had faith this time. "That's great, Sammy. Are they hurt?" Cas threw a sideways glance at Dean worriedly and kept walking.

Sam's scratchy voice came through the speaker, "Just a few little injuries. Nothing serious." He paused for a second, letting the line go dark for a second. The walkie talkie sounded like a television when the cable went out, scratchy and flurried with irritating noise. "Where are you guys?"

"We went down the last hallway. I'll tell you more when you come across a fork in the road."

Castiel knit his eyebrows together in confusion. "There was no fork on the ground."

"Not a real fork, Cas." Dean shook his head and began to walk slower. He felt something in the air that was different. An energy in the vibe around them seemed thicker than before. _We're about to get killed. This is it. This is how we die._ Dean thought to himself. He was overdramatic, but this kind of stuff happened in scary movies all the time. Those characters _always_ ended up dead.

"We're getting close," Castiel stated in a low tone. His movements became more agitated; his entire being filled with a feeling of remembrance and power. It was definitely weird. He had only met Perseus only once, and even then, the sword called out to him. A sick feeling in his gut told him maybe it was best not to use the sword. He was too attached. The power could drive him mad. God knows Perseus went down that path after a while of having the sword in his possession. _Maybe it won't have the same effects on Dean…_

The flashlight in Dean's hand flickered. He shook it and hit it against his other hand. The light dimmed and eventually died. "Fuck…" He scrambled for the cell phone in his pocket and turned the flashlight app on. Sam had shown him how to use it just in case he fell into a tough situation. In a time like this, Dean was glad he listened to his brother when he talked about tech mumbo jumbo. He never understood how grateful he would be until it happened.

The boys soon came across a torch-lit room. The stones took the color of the orange flames and appeared glossy and moldy. A stream of water dripped from the walls and rats scampered around the room and into the small holes in the walls. Dean beamed when he saw a sword placed in the middle of the room. The golden handle was small enough for the grasp of one hand, no more, no less. The rest of the sword was stuck in the ground, waiting for the right person to pull it out of its place.

"The torches are made of an eternal fire that can never be put out," Castiel observed one of the torches and took it out of its holder. It would make a great light once they went back into the pitch black tunnel. He was merely thinking ahead, especially since their only real flashlight was dead.

Dean circled around the sword. He put one of his hands to his chin after putting his phone away. "Do you think the temple will start to crumble once we pull the sword out?"

Cas didn't catch onto the reference.

Dean tried again. "No giant rock falling and trying to squish us? No traps going off intending to murder us in the worst possible way?"

Castiel still didn't follow his train of thought and simply ignored him. He walked over to the other side of the room and examined the sword.

"Come on, Cas. We watched _Indiana Jones_ together!" Dean gave up trying to explain and tisked his tongue. He hated it when no one got his movie references. Angel did get them, but she wasn't present at the moment. Dean ran his hands through his short, damp brown hair. His meadow green eyes moved from his best friend to the sword.

Dean reached to grab the Harpe sword until Castiel held up his hand. "Wait. This is too easy." He picked up a small rock from the floor and threw it at the sword's handle. A spark of electricity bounced off of it and reached out to Dean.

Dean jerked backwards out of sheer reflex and huffed, "Great. Just what we needed. Another trap."

Cas looked at him and shook his head. How foolish could some humans be? They think it's so accessible to obtain something extremely dangerous and powerful. Maybe it had something to do with their simplistic thinking. But even then, Dean watched enough movies to know better. Castiel's blue eyes narrowed as he tried to count the stones in the wall. "That's not the sword. The real sword should be…" He pushed a few stones in and used the fire to draw a pattern of the sword on the wall.

The wall opened up to reveal a smaller room with the same looking sword in the middle.

"Perseus might have gone crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He knew a lot of people wanted this sword." He moved into the room and looked around. Dean mocked Cas slightly behind his back like a child and followed his lead. Castiel's hand grazed the gray stones. "It's one of the most powerful swords down here on Earth. It's the only one that's easily obtainable, so we got lucky on that one." Cas searched for a switch of some kind that wasn't obvious. It was vital to the situation. He wiped the sweat off of his neck with a disgusted face and continued, "It was either get this sword, or sacrifice one hundred virgins, a cat, and throw in some dirt-ridden swamp water in the mix." Cas thought about how odd that sounded to someone who didn't know about the ritual to get the most powerful sword and added quickly, "Don't ask."

Dean glided to the sword and took it out of its holder. His hand fit perfectly on the golden handle with Greek inscriptions written at the top. The silver blade jutted out of the handle with a pointed tip at the end. Towards the top of the blade, a small piece of metal curved off like a hook. _That would add an extra killer move to the list of things I can do with the sword…_ Dean thought happily. His lips turned down into a Not-Half-Bad expression and smirked at a job well done.

At least that's what he thought at first.

Castiel flipped around and saw what Dean had just done. He threw up his hands in disbelief and yelled, "No! I haven't found the…"

The temple started to emit a deep rumble and shook slightly. Castiel's expression went from shocked to a downright bitch face. He was so done with Dean, and now it might cost them their lives. He set his arms to his sides and sighed. Cas finished his sentence, "…the off switch to the big trap."

"I knew there would be a trap, just like in the movies!" Dean yelled in half excitement, half fearfully. He never wanted to be counted out of an adventure, but living a movie might have been a bit too much. This was his family's life on the line, not just some random character on the screen. That made it all the more terrifying.

The boys moved quickly as they backtracked their way through the temple hall. Dean's lungs constricted and his stomach tightened up. _What if we can't find them in time? What will happen then?_ His thoughts only made him feel worse.

"If the switch was turned off before you grabbed it, we wouldn't be in this mess," Cas declared sternly in an almost parental tone. His heart panged against his rib cage in quick, massive thumps. This would not be the end of them. It couldn't be. They still had a mission to accomplish, if it was even accomplishable at all… "The temple is going into protective mode and closing up every room it has. If we're lucky, we'll make it out al-"

The boys bumped into the rest of the group head on as they turned the corner. All of them flew backwards with an oomph and other cries of pain. The torch flew out of Castiel's hand and landed next to Sam. Sam's short brown hair caught fire at the tips, and Sam freaked out. He yelled and patted his hair frantically. The group commenced in helping him and all yelled loudly. All of their hearts felt like they were about to explode. Too much pressure was put on them all at once, especially since half of them were injured in some way or another and probably infected with germs.

Once the fire was put out, the group helped each other up and ran down another hallway. This hall was unexplored by them, but it was the only possible chance for a way out. Tori and Sam were shaking and moved their flashlights quickly around to make sure none of them were stepping into a trap. Pushable tiles and buttons were seen here and there, but thankfully no one ran into them. Dean grasped onto the sword tightly to make sure he wouldn't lose it. He lead the group in the front, while Cas took guard in the back. If he didn't make it out, at least the rest of them would. That's all that mattered.

They came upon another fork in the road.

"Left!" Half the group yelled.

"Right!" The other half screamed.

They all groaned loudly in unison at their indecisiveness and ran down the right hall. They avoided falling stones and rocks from the ceiling and pushed through until they saw a bunch of doors close. Dean pushed on forward. The gentle sound of drops of water falling from the ceiling was outmatched by their stomping feet as they sprinted. The air became thick with humidity and mustiness, making it harder to take in oxygen. Sweat dropped down Dean's forehead like hard rainfall on a spring day. He had to lead his family to safety.

Left.

Right.

The door closed in their face.

They rerouted their directions and rushed to the left hall.

Right.

"I see it!" Dean exclaimed in sheer joy and pointed forward using the sword. This was their chance. They could almost taste the freedom.

_60 Seconds until the door closed…_

The group sprinted towards the exit. They could see the torches lighting up the tunnel and the feeling of the slightly more oxygenated musty air. Hope sprang up in their hearts and made them pick up their pace.

Castiel jerked backwards when a boulder landed on his tan trench coat. He grunted as he hit the floor with a thud and tried to pull himself free. Alice turned around and yelled, "Cas!" She ran back and yanked on his arm. "Come on…" She used all of her energy, but she still couldn't get him free. Her heart hammered against her chest. She couldn't lose him. Not now.

_50 Seconds…_

"No! Alice! Cas!" Sam and Tori held Angel back as she screamed. They were already outside of the temple in an old tunnel. Dean ran back to help get Castiel out of his trench coat. He hated to see it go, but it wasn't worth his life. Not by a long shot.

_30 Seconds…_

The three sprinted to the exit. Cas pushed Alice to crawl out from the closing door first, then Dean. He was last, and barely made it before the door closed fully. Dust flew out from the unsettled ground and officially sealed the temple with a loud, grumbly noise. It would take days for it to reset itself and open up again fully for some other sad sap to explore.

The group exhaled loudly in scattered breaths and almost fell to the floor in exhaustion. They were only down there for a few measly hours, but it honestly felt like days. The siblings hugged one another and Victoria wrapped her arms around Castiel. They were all so happy to be out alive along with the sword they went in for. After a few long seconds, they grabbed onto each other according to couples. Sam and Angel wrapped their arms around each other gently and propped one another up. Castiel danced a bit with Alice and laughed. Dean clutched Tori to him and kissed the side of her head. While they were missing, he was worried sick, but couldn't focus on it at the time. He had to be strong. He always had to be. Dean had to do what he had to do and wouldn't hesitate most of the time. That would be his downfall.


	44. Chapter 44-Year 8

Alice rinsed her hands underneath the cold water of the bathroom sink. She was lost in her random thoughts, as usual. Things had calmed down around the house for the past few months, and then Valentines day arrived. She remembered the perfumed red roses and the extremely large stuffed animals he found at the store Castiel had gotten her. He simply thought they were all adorable and wanted to grace Alice with their presence. Now, it was March. Everything seemed to be moving so fast for the family. It had been eight years since they met and hunted together. Alice was just afraid of when it was going to end. She came back to reality and turned the water off. Her bright ocean blue eyes glanced up at her reflection in the mirror.

Everything seemed normal. Her messy, curly red hair stood out in places like she had just rolled out of bed. Her eyes were sunken in from the stress and worry this impending war was putting on her, but she couldn't help it. The thought of losing her family put her in distraught. But she noticed something off about herself that she hadn't caught at first.

She was _smiling_.

Alice knit her eyebrows together in confusion and set her fingers on her lips hesitantly. Her face muscles weren't tightening up into a smile. She was completely blank faced. She backed up from the mirror, panic starting to blossom in her stomach.

Her reflection put her hand to the mirror and waited.

Alice's heart pounded. _What the hell is going on?_ She pondered and cocked her head at the reflection's actions. Shivers ran up her spine and goosebumps chilled her arms. Alice's lips moved to yell something, but nothing came out. _This can't be happening…What do I do?_ Her reflection was looking at her and smiling. That is not natural. She had never seen or heard of anything like this, and the fear was eating her up inside. Coming across something new was never fun.

_What if this is just me hallucinating? This could be a mind trick. _Curiosity got the best of her and she reached out to touch the glass where her reflection's hand would meet hers.

Suddenly, Alice was in a pitch black place. The only thing in front of her was the bathroom mirror, with her reflection in their bathroom. _What the…_

Her reflection, which was now in the real world, fluffed her hair. She played with the bracelet on her wrist that Cas gave her a couple years ago and ditched the bright red flannel she had on. She glanced around the bathroom and almost danced out of sheer joy.

"What just happened?" Alice asked herself out loud. She started banging on the glass with her fist. The mirror shook and tiny cracks began to form towards the center.

"Alice, are you okay in there? I heard something," Cas called out from the next room.

The reflection waved its hand over the mirror and the mirror stopped making noise when Alice's fist collided with it. She hit it again harder, but it seemed like she was deaf. The mirror vibrated, but no sound was made. The reflection replied, "Yeah, of course." She waved mischievously to Alice before exiting the bathroom and shutting the door.

The reflection possessed her body. Whatever was inside of the mirror was now let out, and Alice switched places with it. Fear coursed through Alice's veins as she put her hand to her heart and clutched her red flannel. _Oh no. I just screwed myself over. I was in the first five minutes in a horror movie and I failed. _She smacked herself on the forehead and closed her eyes. If she kept up the panic, she wouldn't have the time to think of a resolution to her problem. _I messed up so bad, and I have no one to help me._

Alice turned around and saw nothing in front of her. She could barely see two feet in front of her face. Her ears rang in the silence and her breathing was calming down. The air was thick and heavy like the temple they had gone to long ago. The place didn't have a smell, which Alice thought was odd. She just felt air pass through her nostrils and that was it. She reached her hands out to find something to grab onto.

After a few paces forward, her hand wrapped around something. It was cold and felt sturdy. She set her other hand up a bit farther and felt around on the object for an insight on what it could be. Her fingers massaged around the area and found a hard material. Her hand traced up to something slender and up a…jaw?

_Am I touching someone right now? _When she moved the object, it grunted lowly. Alice screamed and uppercut it in the jaw. The person stumbled backwards and hit the ground with a thud. She pulled out her phone and tapped her finger against the flashlight app frantically. When the light came on, she gasped and covered her mouth.

_741 weapons…_

_742 weapons…_

There was a long pause in Sam's train of thought. He was attempting to make himself fall asleep by counting weapons instead of sheep. It relaxed him for the most part. He was drowsy from Alice's chatter. She wouldn't stop talking for hours. On one hand, it was the usual thing she would do. On the other, she talked about things we hadn't even heard of before. She was acting weird all day.

_75…What? _He silently groaned and huffed.

_1 weapon…2 weapons…3 weapons…_

A soft noise originated from the other side of the room. Sam sat up and hesitated. _Maybe it's nothing. Just the walls echoing from past happenings._ He waited, taking in the moonlight coming in from the window. Sam could see everything in the room, but couldn't pinpoint where the noise came from. He brushed his fingers against the soft blanket on top of him. His eyes searched the room suspiciously before laying back down.

A few minutes later, the noise sounded again.

He was sure the sound was real this time. Sam got up from the bed and walked to the other side of the room. The floor was cold and the air was thin from the air conditioning. Being outside of his cocoon of warmth was a bad idea. Goosebumps rose on his skin and made his hairs stand up on end. Sam peered behind the full length mirror and found nothing. He smiled a bit and huffed. _This is crazy. I must be more tired than I thought. _

Something tapped against the glass of the mirror.

Sam hesitated. _Now I'm imagining things._ He thought. He put his hand on the mirror and traced the outline of it.

By then, it was too late.

His reflection laughed at him silently. Sam furrowed his brow in confusion. He noticed he was somewhere dark and hot, not in his bedroom like he was only a few seconds ago. The reflection shook around in Sam's body and frowned when he noticed how long his hair was. His hazel eyes flickered to look at Sam and waved his hand over the mirror.

Sam locked his jaw in place and tilted his head. He loved his hair. _If I end up with short hair when I get out, I swear I will send that thing straight to hell._ Sam contemplated menacingly.

Having short hair made him remember the old days when he had a shot at being a lawyer. Those days were long gone, and being a hunter took work, but it was the best profession he could ask for. Life could be worse. He could be stuck in the cage with Lucifer.

Sam noticed the imposter walking towards the bed, and he immediately hit the glass with his fists. "Hey! Back away, or else!" _Or else what, genius? I'm stuck here…wherever 'here' is. He's in the house with my family._

The imposter got into bed and ruffled the blankets around. Angel adjusted in her spot and noticed Sam was awake. "Hey. Is everything alright?" She asked quietly. Her voice was rough and scratchy and she cleared her throat.

"Yeah, of course love," the man replied. He shot a quick and suggestive glance at Sam and lay down in the bed.

Sam's muscles tensed up. He punched the glass as hard as he could. "Angel, that isn't me! Angel!" He listened to his surroundings and heard nothing but the buzzing in his ear. He didn't hear the glass shuddering under his power. It was like everything on his end went silent. _Maybe they can't hear me…_ _Maybe it's a one way thing._ Sam set his hand on the glass and gave up. No matter what he did, it wouldn't make a difference.

The imposter wrapped his arm around Angel's waist and kissed the back of her neck.

"No! Get away from her!" Sam's blood ran hot and quick through his veins. His heart took off like the start of a race, but then quickly died. He almost slunk backwards when he realized he couldn't do anything. The thought alone hurt him.

"What's got you all worked up at three in the morning?" Angel questioned. She simply laid there and didn't bother to turn around. She didn't feel up to it.

The imposter answered in a low voice, "You're just so beautiful…"

"God damnit…" Sam trailed off. He didn't want this to happen. Not here. Not now. Not while that wasn't him. He crossed his fingers, hoping Angel would say no.

"Sam, go back to sleep. We had a long day." Angel shook him off of her and wrapped her arms around the pillow. She drifted off to sleep soon after.

Sam watched the man turn the other way and go to sleep as well. He sat down next to the mirror and put his head in his hands. "How did I even get here?" He asked himself. That was going to be a question left unanswered. He didn't even see anything wrong with his reflection. Then again, it was so dark and he was tired. The only thought on Sam's mind was how long it would take the group to notice that the man wasn't Sam.


	45. Chapter 45

_Sorry this chapter is late! I just graduated and I've been quite busy...I'm very sleep deprived, but I wanted to get this chapter out to my awesome readers. :) Enjoy._

Angel strolled into Alice's room, completely aware of her sister's sudden mood swings and odd cravings. Alice ate tuna fish with chocolate and had a mixture of energy drinks and tea in a cup to drink. She devoured her meal and licked her messy fingers. Alice moaned, "I do not remember that tasting so good." She leaned back against her chair and rested her head on the cushion. She closed her blue eyes and adjusted comfortably in her seat.

Angel raised an eyebrow as she sat down. Something was off. Alice never tried more disgusting combinations of food than her. She wasn't that kind of person. Angel ran her fingers across her lips in contemplation. The only thing worse than noticing something was wrong was talking about it. Angel was never the one for conversations like that. She bottled up most of her emotions out of habit. She instantly knew she was going to regret it. "What's wrong, Alice?"

Alice chuckled deeply, "You don't want to know the answer to that, dear sister of mine."

_Really? What the…_ Whatever was bothering her, it was something serious. "Tell me."

"Fine," Alice began and sat up to look at Angel square in the eye. She pursed her lips and bit them. "I'll begin my rant here. I am so sick of Dean!" She threw up her hands and slapped them down on her legs. "He keeps eating all of these greasy and fattening foods, but does not have one pimple on his face! Plus, he talks and chews with his mouth open! Who does that? C'mon!"

Angel's chest heaved for a second. This wasn't Alice. She tapped her finger against her leg out of sheer impatience. She wanted to tell Sam and Dean immediately, but she didn't want to let whatever was possessing Alice realize she caught on. "He's that way because he wants to be. I mean, that's what makes him and Sam polar opposites."

"Sam! Your husband needs to cut his freaking hair. I am so done with him. Every time I go to take a shower, the drain is always clogged with his damn hair." Alice knocked over her drink on accident and didn't rush to pick it up from spilling. She was so into the conversation that she didn't care. "He looks like Rapunzel for God's sake!"

Angel glared at Alice after picking up the bottle. The mixture of liquid covered the table and dripped into the carpet. She pinched the bridge of her nose and kept listening to the person talk. Even if it wasn't Alice, those were her thoughts that she had held inside.

"Don't even get me started on Castiel. Dear God, the man's wings leave feathers everywhere! His wings can't be seen by the human eye, but damn, feathers just spawn out of nowhere. If I put together every one I have found, I could make ten freakin' pigeons. That's insane!" Alice groaned and rubbed her temples. "What irritates the shit out of me the most is his godly talk. 'Oh, God is still out there. Neh, neh, neh.' He's been gone for years. Get over it!"

Angel moved uncomfortably in her seat. _Wow, Alice sure had a lot to say…_ She thought to herself. "Alice…"

Alice cut her off with a snap, "Dear lord, where do I even begin with you, Angel? You are the worst of them all." She scowled and stressed, "I _hated_ how you brought home these drunken assholes just to have a one night stand with. I stayed up all night because I couldn't sleep." Her face twisted into a sick expression. "When I needed you most before we met the Winchester brothers, you were never there for me. You were either banging some guy or getting drunk alone. You don't know how many times I had to go on missions risking my ass while you were drunk on yours. One of these days when you are drunk at a bar and you get into deep shit, don't even think about crying to me about it."

Angel was taken aback. Of all the things she could have said, she said that. Those things she said…they were partly true. Sure, she went out drinking and sleeping around. Being on the road was a hard lifestyle for her to cope with. The other half, letting her sister almost get killed because of her absence, was false. Angel always went on with or without Alice. Alice was the one that left her alone, not the other way around. Angel made sure to take care of her sister, no matter what the cost. All she could do was nod in an understanding way and leave.

Sam inhaled the marinated ribs in his hands and the dark chocolate milkshake to accompany it. The meal was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten in his entire life. His stomach couldn't get enough. The sweet savory taste danced across his taste buds in a swirl of elegance. The smell filled his nostrils and almost made his senses burst from the exhilaration. He groaned in satisfaction.

Dean walked in on the food fest. He had to stop and do a double take because he couldn't believe his eyes. His brother, the health nut, chowed down on some of the unhealthiest stuff ever. Empty bags of junk food littered the floor, and some crumbs were even in Sam's hair. "Dude, since when did you eat that much junk food?"

"What? I'm starving."

Dean furrowed his brow. Sam acting different? Something was definitely wrong. He criticized Dean for eating junk food, and now he eats more than three meals in one? "Hey, Sammy, are you alright?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Sam questioned. He grinded his teeth after swallowing the food he had in his mouth.

Dean let it go and sat down to watch television. He watched Sam from the corner of his eye, taking note of everything weird he was doing. Two hours had passed and he had a list as long as Sam's hair. Nothing was adding up. None of this made sense.

Alice walked in front of the television and headed to the kitchen. Sam's eyes followed her until she couldn't be seen. His lips twitched up into a slight smile.

Dean didn't notice Sam had left. Sam's phone began to ring with an unknown number. He grabbed it and strolled into the kitchen. "Hey, your phone is ringing."

What he saw in there almost made him collapse in his spot.

Sam and Alice were all over each other. Hands in certain places, their mouths connected; Dean refused to look at anything else they were doing. He dropped the ringing phone and threw Sam off of Alice in a heartbeat. An adrenaline surged through Dean's body and tinges of anger accompanied it. How could he do this to Angel? To one of the only women in his life that has survived this long? To a woman who was afraid of commitment? To a woman who fought for him and saved his life multiple times? To a woman that let him have a dog in the house! "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?"

Sam stood his ground and got ready to get up in Dean's face. He raised his tone, "Exactly what I'm doing."

"What? Cheating on Angel? You've only been married for a year and you do this?" Dean ran his hands down his face in frustration and wanted to cry out in pain. "Dude, this isn't like you." He walked out of the kitchen and headed towards Angel's room.

Castiel stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. His mind was boggled at the mere thought of how Alice was acting. When they went to sleep last night, she didn't say she loved him or talked to him. She just went straight to sleep. Cas knew that was already a bad omen. She talked his ear off most nights, and when she didn't, something was truly wrong.

He rubbed his eyes and ran his hands down his face. The stubble on his face itched and bothered him, but he felt too lazy to shave. It was too much of a struggle to commit to it. The upside was that Alice liked the stubble. If she didn't, he would put in the effort to take it off. Castiel's blue eyes closed as he sighed deeply. He took a few seconds in for himself just to breathe and let his mind wander.

When his eyes opened, he saw Alice's reflection in the mirror.

He stumbled backwards and put his hand to his heart. His blood pressure rose quite quickly. His head spun with possibilities of what could possibly be happening, but there were so many that he couldn't narrow them down. Was he in a dream? Was he really awake?

"Cas, can you hear me?" Alice questioned in distress. Her red, curly hair slightly covered her pale face, but didn't shield him from seeing her piercing blue eyes. Her face was adorned in cuts and dirt, but she didn't seem too beaten up. She appeared more frightened than anything.

Cas lifted one corner of his mouth into a shy smile, "Alice, you scared the crap out of me."

"Castiel? Hello?" Alice touched the frame of the mirror and her face fell with terror. Could he not hear her? Or was it that she couldn't hear him? He seemed to be talking, but she wasn't that great at reading lips in the first place.

He set his hands on the frame of the mirror and tilted his head in confusion. If she was there…

"Cas, if you can hear me, that thing out there isn't me. They switched places with me. It was caused by…I don't know. Some magic. Maybe they're a demon. You need to tell everyone else," she explained. Her eyes searched his and watched him nod.

Castiel wanted to stay and ask questions, but she couldn't hear him. There wasn't a point. Plus, the girl couldn't play charades if her life counted on it. He touched the part of the reflection where her cheek was and put his hand there gently. Cas desired to feel her skin against his and fix all of the cuts she had. The only way to get her back was to fix all of this.

He ran out of the bathroom in search for the rest of the group. Right as he was exiting the bathroom, he bumped into Dean and Angel. They all stumbled backwards and caught themselves using the walls as leverage. All shouted simultaneously, "They aren't what they seem." All three of them looked at each other curiously as to how they knew.

Cas started with his news, "I saw Alice. She was trapped in the bathroom mirror. She said the thing inside of her body isn't her and could be a demon of some sort."

"Well, I found that out when I talked to her," Angel rubbed the back of her neck and winced. At least she knew her sister was alive. It would be a complete different story if Alice was dead. Then the demon would pay for it. Whether it be by torture, death, or something else, the demon would suffer.

"Whatever happened, happened to Sammy too. He's not himself and I found the two sucking face in the kitchen," Dean explained his side of the story. He glanced over at Angel and felt the wave of anger radiating off of her. He assured her, "It wasn't him."

"That's not what I'm angry about," Angel grit her teeth and started walking towards the living room.

Castiel held her back by her arm and stated, "We can't let them know we're onto them. Act natural."

Angel calmed down a bit and straightened herself out. If she was going to do this, calm would be the best choice. All three of them met up in the living room and plopped down in separate chairs.

The room fell silent except for the volume of the television. A scary movie played and entertained the five of them until Victoria joined them. She smiled when she entered and leaned up against the back of the couch. Her hands played with Alice's hair, but she quickly stopped and backed away. Her face paled and her gray eyes glanced around at all of us. It was almost as if she had _felt_ the being's soul. Alice was usually warm and welcoming, but this thing felt cold and uninviting.

Before 'Alice' could turn around, Dean coughed, "Christo."

Both Sam and Alice flinched and jumped up to fight. They were discovered. Sam knocked Dean over and wrestled with him. Alice punched Castiel in the jaw and sent him stumbling backwards. Angel kicked Alice in the ribs, but she caught her foot and twisted her leg. Angel cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Victoria swung at Alice and her fist made contact with her lower jaw. Castiel swept Alice's feet out from underneath her and made her hit her head on the coffee table. She was out cold.

Dean threw Sam into the wall and knocked over a chair. His hands were around Sam's wrists to keep him from harming him, but Sam's fingers had already wrapped around Dean's neck. They both struggled to gain dominance over the other. Angel came up behind Sam and hit him over the head with a lamp. Sam cried out and was out cold in the next few seconds.

Castiel, Angel, Dean, and Victoria exhaled loudly and huffed. The fight didn't take as long as they thought, but it was the fact that they were fighting their family members. That fact alone made their hearts ache.

Castiel informed Victoria of the situation and what they knew so far. Then, they got to work. While Tori went downstairs to research what kind of demons they were, the trio tied up Sam and Alice to chairs. They tied them several times with rope and personally crafted handcuffs that would trap any demon. It was their best shot at keeping them at bay until the group could figure out what was going on. The three remained silent and sat in a small triangle until Victoria came back up with the news.

"I knew I remembered their description from somewhere!" She opened the big, clunky book she held in her hand. She pointed at a passage and continued, "They are Phlinkytria from the middle east. Demons that have been stuck in the mirror world for a long time. Once they find the opportunity to leave, they take it, but it can only happen when they've made contact with the living. No vessel, no escape."

"What does that mean for Sam and Alice?" Dean asked as he leaned forward.

Tori bit her lip, "They're stuck in the mirror world."

"Well, how do we get them out?" Angel became attentive at the sound of it. Mirror world? That sounded a lot more complicated than she had originally thought.

Victoria shook her head wearily and didn't look anyone in the eye. "You're not going to like this…"


	46. Chapter 46

_AN: Sorry for the late and short update. Someone just got shot a few doors down and I'm kind of shaken about it... I might update every other week. I have a lot to do...I'm also sorry this fanfic might have moved too fast. It is my first, after all. I promise my others will be better! I'll upload my Avengers trilogy soon. I also have a Destiny one in the makes, so if you are a fan, please follow me for future reads! Thank you._

Sam forced himself to keep walking. Each footstep seemed to weigh him down little by little. The thick air annoyed Sam, for each breath felt like he was inhaling water. The darkness seemed to last forever in every direction, so Sam used the flashlight app on his cell phone to guide him. The ground felt like hard compacted, unfertile soil. He wiped the sweat from his forehead tiredly and pushed on into nothingness.

He didn't know where he was going, what he was doing, or how he was going to get out. Hell, he didn't even know if he'd ever make contact with the group again. The thought of being lost in the void sent chills down his spine.

Sam would never complain about his brother again or pick up after his mess. He would never hear his wife's laugh or feel the soft touch of her skin. He would never bug his sister-in-law about going out to run a few miles. Sam would never inform his winged-friend of pop culture references or that Dean was using sarcasm. Never even ruffle his dog's hair and tell him how much he loved him.

Frustration and fright built up in Sam's system. The chance of living his life hung in the balance here. Surely one of the others would notice it wasn't actually him…right? Worse comes to worse… _Actually…Wait. Dean and Angel were planning on staking out for a hunt they found in another state. Have they left already? Usually Tori doesn't pick up on differences, and sometimes Castiel is oblivious for some reason. God, I hope someone finds out…_ Sam contemplated.

"Is anybody out there?" Sam yelled. He knew that's only what stupid characters in scary movies would do, but he had no other choice. If someone was out there, he had to find them, and quick. He stopped walking and listened for a moment.

Something scraped against the dirt. Footsteps?

A scream came from afar.

_There's hope._ Sam almost broke out into a run until he heard a crunching sound under his foot. He backed up and cringed. He stepped on a jaw bone. Rotten yellow teeth scattered about from the impact of his weight; the gray bone itself cracked into jagged shards and planted itself into the ground. _Is there anything here that could kill me? Or did this person just die from starvation?_ Whichever it was, Sam didn't want to stay long enough to find out.

He closed his eyes and exhaled lightly before taking a step to the side. Sam bumped into something hard and quickly shined his flashlight at it. He bit his tongue before he gasped and kept quiet.

Dozens of people stood in place. Some twitched their limbs, while others turned their heads to listen. They didn't seem to notice the bright light before them, which led Sam to the conclusion that they were blind. Being in the dark so long must have made them adapt. Their milky white eyes flickered around. One reached its hand up to scratch its face with its sharp nails. Blood had dried into their pale skin, meaning they ate whatever they could find. For all he knew, they had sharp teeth too. The beings made clicking sounds from their mouths in a form of communication. None of them had hair, but some were more rounded than others, probably indicating the difference in genders.

The one Sam bumped into hissed at him and attacked. It leapt at him and sunk its claws into his arm. Sam grunted and kicked it in its chest. It bit his hand with its teeth and took a chunk out of it. Sam bit the side of his cheek and slammed his fist into its head. The thing fell backwards and cried out, alerting the rest of the horde of its finding. Sam's eyes widened and quickly decided to run.

The beings clicked and clawed at the dirt as they trailed behind him. The sounds grew louder and louder. They were growing in numbers.

Sam sprinted until he couldn't breathe. He had so much stamina from the adrenaline pumping through his veins that he forgot his lungs needed an intake of fresh oxygen. He looked back to see if they were still following him and accidentally bumped into something. He put up his fists to prepare for a fight, but he recognized Alice standing in front of him. "Alice?"

Alice didn't say anything and hugged him tightly. Her hair was dirty and blood stains covered her shirt. She shook in his grasp and dug her nails into his back. Whatever happened to her, it must have been terrible. Her blue eyes searched his for a moment and glanced behind him. "Run," she whispered. She took his hand and darted to the left.

The two charged in that direction for what seemed like miles. They were used to running, for they went out jogging almost once a week, but this was too much. They didn't know where they were going or had any knowledge of a safe place. It was just pitch blackness. The air didn't feel good as it brushed through their hair and hit their skin. It only made them sweat.

After a while, Alice and Sam lost the group of bat beings. They stopped and collapsed onto the ground. Alice rolled onto her back and gasped for air. Sweat dropped down the side of her face like rain. She closed her eyes and groaned.

Sam sat down and examined his bite wound. Blood poured from it and his skin was a torn up mess. He winced and ripped off the bottom of his shirt to use as a tourniquet. He grit his teeth together and forced out, "What are those things?"

"I…don't know…" Alice trailed off when she caught her breath. "They seem to be…people. People that have been sucked into this world like we have."

"And where exactly are we?" He tucked and locked the tourniquet in place to keep it from moving. The blood flow stopped from the pressure and kept the bleeding at bay. For now.

"I think we're in the mirror world. Somehow we switched places with whatever was in here." She paused for a second and sat up. Her eyes flickered around the area and back to Sam. "If the group doesn't figure out how to get us out soon, we might end up like those things someday."

Sam shuddered at the thought. Maybe their lives _were_ over. Maybe he shouldn't have faith in the rest of the group. They were pretty oblivious at times. "Let's go find a mirror so we have more of a possibility of getting out." He put his phone away to save the battery and helped Alice up.


	47. Chapter 47

_AN: Okay. Sorry for the long wait. I've been stuck on this fan fiction for a loongggg time! I don't know what happened. But I will still try to finish it. I don't know how many people are still reading, but thank you for everything. :)_

"There's a spell to go inside of the mirror world and pull them out," Victoria stopped herself and glanced up at Dean. She brushed back her black hair and sighed.

Dean's brow furrowed. His emerald eyes searched Tori's gray ones and saw the news wasn't good. "What's the catch?"

Tori set the book down and looked at Alice's body. She was off in the void with God knows what. Danger was always prowling around the family. "You only have a certain amount of time before your bodies start to shut down. The spell makes you detach from your bodies spiritually so you can go into the other world. It's the only way."

"Let's do it," Dean stated in a rush. He would do anything to save his family.

In the few minutes they had, the group formed a circle. The lights were off and lit candles sat on the tables. Angel and Dean joined hands and put their other hands on a mirror. They closed their eyes, waiting for Tori to begin. Castiel moved around impatiently, bothered by the fact that they were in this ridiculous situation in the first place. He told them he'd stay in the real world to pull them out with his powers if he needed to. He was the only one that actually could do that out of the bunch. Without him, they could be stuck in there forever. Angel had asked him why he couldn't just do that with Sam and Alice, but he said without a vessel, it wouldn't work.

Tori started chanting in Latin. Her voice was strong and commanding, until she paused. Dean opened one eye to see what she was doing. "How do you say this word?" She whispered to Cas. Castiel sighed and told her. She nodded and continued.

Angel opened her eyes. They were surrounded by darkness. She let go of Dean's warm hand and adjusted her eyes. "Dean..." she exhaled quietly and listened to her surroundings. All that could be heard was their breathing, off balance and uneven. "They could be anywhere."

"Then we're going to search everywhere until we find them," Dean said as he moved forward and started the search.

Angel stayed quiet for the time being. She kept her cool about the situation and tried to keep a blank mind. Something bothered her, though. They walked for a while, wandering aimlessly in the darkness with only the light on Dean's phone. Silence. A ringing in her ears started and she had to stop it somehow. "Dean?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going on between you and Victoria?"

Dean side-glanced at Angel and his forehead crinkled. He tilted his head to the side slightly. That was one thing he didn't want to answer. He didn't even know what they were to each other. Were they dating? Were they just a fling? It was a complete guessing game. "What are you talking about?"

Angel scoffed. Typical. "Dean, I know you usually bottle your feelings up. I get it. I'm the same way." She looked around nervously, half expecting Sam and Alice to come out of nowhere and end their search. "Seriously? You kissed the side of her head once we got out of the temple last year. I saw it. You don't usually do that with women."

"Why are you so interested in this?" He asked tiredly. Why couldn't their missions just be in silence? In spy movies, the spies hardly talked when closing in on enemy territory. And even if they did, they would probably die. Both of them didn't have weapons, so most likely, something bad would happen.

Angel shrugged. "I just think it's about time you find someone you're actually interested in. You deserve a happy life, Dean."

"Happy," he exhaled in a soft chuckle. "What makes you think our story is happy?"

That was an answer she didn't expect. He was right. Their story wasn't happy. Sure, it had its happy moments, but in reality, this story was a big sad event, one after another. And the ending...well, that looked as dark as the mirror world. Angel glanced down at the dirt ground and swung her hands back and forth. The memories of what the demon had shown her many years ago flooded back into her mind, making her flinch in pain. Her voice cracked as she answered, "It isn't. I think you should enjoy life now while you're still alive..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dean stopped in his tracks and turned the flashlight on her.

Angel covered her eyes from the bright light and shook her head. "Nothing."

"That ain't nothing. Angel, what the hell is going on in that mind of yours?" He questioned in a grumbly mood. Dean turned the flashlight to the floor and looked her square in the eye. Out of everything, this was the last thing on his importance list.

Angel thought this was the perfect time to ask. He'd be pressured to answer so they could move on. She wouldn't stop bugging him otherwise. Angel didn't break her gaze and just straight up told him, "Dean, take the initiative. Ask Victoria out. Have a great date. Express some emotions. Have a life that you're content with. Please just...try to live life to the fullest. Now is the time."

Dean's eye twitched for a second, taking in what she was saying. Live life to the fullest. Didn't he already do that? He was glad to even be alive right now. All of them were lucky. Hooking up with Victoria seemed to be just...unexpected. Pent up emotions that seemed...real. Real. That word had been hard for Dean to cope with. Everything they faced was real. Their emotions? He kept those tucked away for a reason. Maybe she was right in a way...

Angel punched Dean in the arm. Concern laced in her voice as she knit her eyebrows together. "Do you hear me? Dean?"

Dean reluctantly nodded. "Yeah, I hear you..." He grunted and walked on. Finding their siblings was a priority right now, not his love life.

Angel turned her head and listened. She grabbed onto Dean's arm to stop him and waited. When he moved his lips to talk, she pinched him to keep him quiet. She mouthed to him, "Do you hear that?"

He stopped breathing for a second and listened carefully. The surrounding area sounded quiet...until he noticed the faint scraping noise.

And it was getting closer.

He shined the light around them, searching for the source. That's when he saw it.

A creature jerked around and scratched its claws against itself. Fresh blood trickled down its sides and jaw. Its milky white eyes widened and frantically looked around as it made clicking sounds. Others joined it as if they were communicating.

Dean scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. In his entire hunting career, he hadn't seen anything like it. Then again, he'd been seeing a lot of weird shit since Angel and Alice came along. The light didn't seem to bother it at all, and Dean let out a confused huff.

The creature screeched and attacked Dean. He punched the thing in the face and kicked another down. He didn't mean to make a noise, it just sort of came out.

One of the creatures leapt on Angel and tackled her to the ground. They wrestled around and struggled to maintain control. "Dean, a little help!" Angel yelled, not finding a way to get the creature off of her. Its nails dug into her arms, making her wince from the pain.

Dean swung at one of the monsters and missed. "Little busy right now," he replied and stabbed the other.

Guess I'll have to do it my way then... she thought. Angel saw no way out of this and bit into the creatures neck. It squealed in a high pitch and squirmed in her grasp. She took a chunk out of it and spit it out to the side. Its blood covered her mouth and flooded from the hole in its skin. She wrapped her hands around its head and snapped its neck.

Dean sliced one of the creature's heads off and stabbed another in the heart. Seemed to do the trick. They collapsed onto the ground lifeless. He sideglanced at the one Angel took care of and winced. "Remind me not to wrestle with you again."

Angel wiped the blood from her mouth and cringed. It was gooey and appeared black. She rolled her eyes at his comment. "I would totally rip your neck out, Dean," she said in the most sarcastic tone. And the journey forward continued.

Sam forced his fingers through the creature's eyes, pushing them into its skull. Blood flowed out and drenched his hands as the breaths of the creature halted. He yanked his fingers out of its eye sockets and wiped the blood off onto his pants.

Alice flipped some monsters and stepped on a few limbs. She heard the cracking of their bones and proceeded to do more damage. One came up behind her and scratched her back. She cried out and Sam took over from there. He kicked it to the ground and smashed its head in with his boot. "That seems to take care of that horde," he declared out of breath.

"Yeah, can't wait for the next party to show up," Alice stated tiredly. She didn't have the energy to add in the sassy tone, so she just left it as a deadpan.

Something caught Sam's eye from afar. "Dean?" Sam called out.

Dean's eyes snapped towards him and he instantly broke out into a grin. "Sam?"

"Angel?" Alice ran towards her as she got closer.

Angel embraced her sister in her arms and almost yelled out in pure joy, "Alice!"

All of them hugged one another, joyful that they were reunited so quickly. Angel awkwardly avoided the question about the dry blood on her mouth and Dean just shrugged. Dean also asked what happened to Sam and why he was hurt, but all Sam said was the creature got an advantage when they were fighting. Other than that, the siblings just wanted to get out of the mirror world.

Minutes passed and it seemed to be taking forever to find the mirror. Dean and Angel hadn't even gone that far from it, so where was it? Sam and Alice became restless. They just wanted out of that world, and their siblings didn't blame them.

At last the mirror emerged from the darkness and reflected what was in the real world. Castiel paced the room as Victoria sat quietly reading a book. Sam and Alice's bodies still were unconscious, for the demons hadn't woken up yet. Maybe Cas just knocked them out again.

All four of them touched the mirror and called out to Castiel. He pulled them out using some power from heaven and they were back in the real world. He instructed Sam and Alice to put their hands on their bodies' foreheads and chant something with him. They did so. Castiel lit up and yanked the demons out of their bodies, burning them up at his touch.

Once everyone was back in their bodies and able to rejoice, Sam and Alice called it quits and wanted to sleep. Angel tugged Castiel with her to the kitchen to go make some food and Dean talked to Victoria. With this experience, all everyone wanted to do was avoid and forget. That's what they felt comfortable doing.


End file.
